Posts
So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!" But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? or which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.
- Matthew 9:1-8
Yesterday's reading took place after Jesus had crossed the Sea of Galilee with His disciples, leading them far away from home territory. When He had come to the other side of the Sea, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine." And He said to them, "Go." So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water. Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city cam out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.
So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. From the country of the Gergesenes, a Gentile area, Jesus has returned to Capernaum, back across the Sea of Galilee. This is "home territory" for His ministry, where people already know Him.
Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!" But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? or which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men. My study bible says here: "As shown by the healing of the paralytic, faith is an indispensable condition for salvation. Faith is collective as well as personal, for the faith of the paralytic's friends helped in his healing. Three signs of Jesus divinity are shown: (1) He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Chronicles 6:30); (2) He forgives sins, a power which belongs to God alone; and (2) He heals by the power of His word."
The first thing to notice here, to my mind, is the power of intercession, the power of "friends" to pray for others. In so many ways, we see God's power work like a circuit, made complete through our faith, the thing that needs to connect us to God. But this circuit, like electricity, can come through networks. If we carry the analogy further, it would seem that the connection can also be made by proximity, like lightning jumps. This connection between humans and God works through networks of friends, even those not in proximity, and even -- according to St. Paul, for one, and the Tradition of the early Church -- can work among us between heaven and earth, between those who have passed and those who are living in the world. There are no barriers save one: the necessity of faith to make this circuit, to increase its flow among us. And there we stay, in this undeniable place of power, and the way in which "God gives such power to men." That circuit also connects within us, as deeply as it will go, as everything goes through the Knower of Hearts, the source of all power to begin with. It is the "Heart-knower" (as Acts 1:24 literally reads in the Greek) who knows our faith, who makes the circuit possible, who gives the power to man. And in this extraordinary circuit, the Spirit is at work in us, the Lord truly knows everything in our hearts, and our faith is put to work. It is even in this circuit that we truly pray the prayers of the heart, that we may be led to pray for those in need even if we don't know them in the flesh or are unaware of what is ailing them. Let us remember this mysterious, "electrical" or "electro-magnetic-like" power through everything we know and that which we don't know as well. What we do know is that the Owner and origin of this power knows us. It's what makes it true that there is only one Judge. But at the same time, through His work, He shares this power with us, and we are connected to Him, and to one another, through faith. We just can't underestimate how that mysterious power, shared even with us, will work. So, we, too, may marvel as these witnesses in today's gospel. The greatest mystery of all may be in the power of that faith to find ultimate forgiveness.
