The faith of the paralytic

December 10, 2018
Monday, 2nd Week of
Advent 1st Reading:
Is 35:1–10 Gospel: Lk 5:17–26
One day Jesus was teaching and many Pharisees and teachers of the Law had come from every part of Galilee and Judea and even fromJerusalem. They were sitting there while the power of the Lord was at work to heal the sick. Then some men brought a paralyzed man who lay on his mat. They tried to enter the house to place him before Jesus, but they couldn’t find a way through the crowd. So they went up on the roof and, removing the tiles, they lo-wered him on his mat into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven.” At once the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to wonder, “This man insults God! Who can forgive sins but onlyGod? But Jesus knew their thoughts and asked them, “Why are you acting like this? Which is easier to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven,’or: ‘Get up and walk’? Now you shall know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” And Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” At once the man stood before them. He took up the mat he had been lying on and went home praising God.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)

If not for the faith in Jesus’ power to heal, the paralytic of today’s Gospel would probably have refused the embarrassing ordeal of being lowered from the roof. His faith was doubly rewarded. He did not only get the phy-sical healing he had hoped for but even forgiveness, which probably he never thought was possible. Forgiveness, in the understanding of the Jews, was not supposed to be available to anyone by mere declaration of another human person. That’s why the religious leaders protested when Jesus declared that the sin of the pa-ralytic was forgiven. Their biggest headache, however, was the miraculous recovery of the paralytic. This one really confounded them because they also believed in the close connection between sin and illness. The logic was too hard to ignore. If sickness was caused by sin, then forgiveness of sin should remove the sickness. And so Jesus probably had authority when his declaration of the forgiveness of the sins of the paraly-tic was accompanied by miraculous cure.
While Jesus’ enemies were in utter confusion, the paralytic enjoyed God’s benediction. It was possible that prophets could heal in those days. However, only Jesus could heal and forgive. Jesus was able to do both on him because of his faith. “Faith can move mountains” is not just a nice saying. One can safely take it literally if he has the faith to embrace it as such. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.

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