When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you"

 

 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

 

- Mark 2:1–12 

 

Yesterday we read that as soon as Jesus and the disciples had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.  At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.  Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.   When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next town, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in the synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons. Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction. 

 

  And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"  My study Bible asks us to note that one purpose of Christ's coming into the world is to forgive sins, to free humanity from the bondage of sin.  To forgive sins is a greater power than physical healing, for, as the scribes correctly note, God alone can forgive sins.  So, therefore, the easier task is to grant physical healing.  Although Christ being fully God holds the authority to forgive, He condescends to the people gathered by healing this man so that He draws people to God, whom they then glorified.  

 

 There is another note in my study Bible on this healing of the paralytic, and that focuses on faith.  It says that this healing shows that faith is an indispensable condition for salvation.  Faith, it notes, is collective as well as personal -- as is shown in today's reading.  For the faith of the paralytic's friends helped in this healing.  Moreover, in addition to the power to forgive sins we may also observe other signs of Jesus' divinity here.  First, Jesus knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Chronicles 6:30), and He heals by the power of His word, through a command ("I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house").  Today's reading asks us to ponder not just the power of faith, but perhaps what faith is, exactly.  Many people think faith simply means to believe in something.  Often I find people seem to understand faith as just the capacity for believing something is true, or being convinced of something. But in context with today's reading, and the relationship with God that faith implies so powerfully here, it seems we need to change that concept of faith.  It isn't simply believing in something.  Faith is entrusting oneself, which means to pursue and to follow the path that sets forth.  The paralytic's friends may believe, or possibly they hope, that Christ can heal their friend.  After all, by now His fame as a healer has spread, and so many people come to see Him in hopes of such help.  But what really happens here is all that extra effort the paralytic's friends make to pursue Jesus, to go where He is, and to bring their friend to Him.  This isn't just an analytical conviction about something or someone.  This is putting heart and soul into pursuing God, pursuing Christ.  They go the extra mile and make the extra effort, they use a creative strategy to overcome obstacles, and they come down even through the roof if that's the only way they can come to Christ.  And that is the real and true example of what faith is in this story.  Let us note that the text says it was when Jesus saw their faith that He pronounced the paralytic's sins forgiven.  Faith is the pursuit of God, of Christ, of going that extra effort, even thinking outside of the box, outside of conventions that make an obstacle, to come to Him, to meet Him where we need to.  That is a lifelong pursuit and a lifelong practice a lifelong journey.  For He is the path -- the "way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).  Keep in mind that the word translated as "way" means "road" in modern Greek.  He is that very road, and faith is finding Him where He is, not where we want to meet Him.  And we are to meet Him where He leads us, for He is that very road, or path, of faith.  Faith is not about believing something hard enough so that it comes true, and neither is prayer, for that matter.  In prayer we seek Him, and we seek His path for us -- not the other way around.  Let your faith live in this pursuit and finding Him where He is, for that is where our salvation lies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?"

 

 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."

  

And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

 

- Mark 2:1-12 

 

Yesterday we read that as soon as Jesus and the others had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.  At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.  Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in the their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

 

And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."   My study Bible comments that what we can observe here is that faith is an indispensable condition for salvation.  This scene teaches us that faith is collective as well as personal, as the faith of the paralytic's friends helped in his healing. 

 

 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"  One of the purposes of Christ's coming into the world is to forgive sins, my study Bible notes, thus freeing humanity from its bondage.  It notes that to forgive sins is a greater power than physical healing.  As the scribes correctly note here, God alone can forgive sins.  Therefore the easier task is to grant physical healing.  Although Christ is fully God an holds the authority to forgive, He condescends to those who are gathered in this crowded house and heals the man in order to draw people to God, whom they all glorified God.   Additionally my study Bible also comments on three signs of Jesus' divinity shown here.  First, He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Chronicles 6:30).  Second, He forgive sins, which is a power that belongs to God alone.  And finally, He heals here by the power of His word.

 

 One of the notable comments on today's reading in my study Bible mentions a sign that Christ is divine, in the fact that He knows what is in people's hearts.  It cites 1 Samuel 16:7 as a Scriptural reference to this, which describes the time when the Prophet Samuel went to anoint a new king, guided by God's instructions.  The verse reads, "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'"  Jesus knows what is in the hearts of the scribes, for the text tells us that He perceived it in His spirit.  Of course, as Christ is the Lord, there are none who can claim an equal capacity for perception of the heart.  But this attribute of knowing in His spirit on the part of Christ is one that sometimes attributed to saints, and this is particularly so in Orthodox tradition.   It is a gift of grace, a gift of the Spirit, shared as other spiritual graces are shared -- but of course, not to the extent of Christ's understanding.  And yet, we can observe in some traditions this "knowing" on the part of older and experienced saints in particular, often those who are called "elders" and to whom many are drawn for help and advice.  Especially within the monastic tradition, the ascetics of this type of life are designed to reveal the truth of one's own heart.  This means, in particular to find the places where we are spiritually vulnerable, given more or less easily to temptation.  Fasting practices teach one about vulnerability to various desires.  This does not simply apply to food, but we should keep in mind that during traditional fasts (such as the forty-day period of Lent before Easter, in imitation of Christ's time of fasting and temptation; see Matthew 4:1-11), we are also guided to fast from many other things and passions, such as, for example, gossip and backbiting.  In modern times, it has become a common practice to refrain in whole or in part from social media as a Lenten practice, and we can each name a number of harmful things we're tempted to by social media.  The true purpose of all forms of spiritual discipline is to come to know the self, so that we may practice repentance or "change of mind" as the word literally means in Greek (metanoia/μετανοια).  But perhaps even more importantly in this context, we can't possibly understand others without first coming to understand ourselves -- especially in this sense of knowing our flaws and seeking to change more toward the image and likeness of God in which we are created, and which is modeled for us in the life of Jesus.  In Matthew 7 (part of the Sermon on the Mount), Jesus teaches, "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye" (Matthew 7:1-5).  These words of Christ to His disciples clearly allude to this principle of coming to know oneself and wrestling with our own weaknesses and vulnerabilities to temptation and sin of all kinds.  For how else could they become teachers of others without first removing the "plank" in their own eye, in order to know and help remove the "speck" in another's?  What results from a blindness to our own hearts and our own flaws is the phenomenon known as "projection."  In our own blindness to ourselves, we project our flaws onto others, and see the "evil" we carry in those other people.  We can see this happening all around us, and one only has to take a look at social media to understand modern forms of the kind of hypocrisy and false judgment condemned by Christ.  When we observe such things, it tells about the failure to value humility and the capacity to come to know our own flaws -- and especially to practice compassion in the light of such truths.  When we fail to follow Christ's teachings, such flawed and socially harmful behavior -- this harsh judgment -- becomes a part of our currency.  We run the danger of it becoming "normal" to us, and something in which we willingly participate and introduce to others through our own flawed behavior.  When the world loses track of the "better yardstick" which faith gives us by which to measure ourselves, then the whole of the community and society loses, for sin works this way.  Let us consider the importance of our own awareness of ourselves, and the practices designed to lead us toward better self-knowledge and spiritual growth in the light of Christ, and the grace He brings to us.  For it is only in this sort of humility that we can become "great."  It is there we find ourselves as we need to be, and the road toward the life to which He calls us, and the spiritual fruit that is ours to produce.

 

"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"

 

 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?  For 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 we read that, after Jesus and the disciples passed through a stormy Sea of Galilee, when He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Jesus two demon-possessed men, coming out fo 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 came 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.  Jesus' own city is Capernaum, to which Jesus returns after crossing the Sea of Galilee and healing the demon-possessed men in yesterday's reading (above).  

 

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?  For 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.  As shown by this healing of the paralytic, faith is an indispensable condition for salvation, my study Bible notes.  It asks us to note also that faith is collective as well as personal -- as it is the faith of the paralytic's friends that helped in his healing.  There are three signs here in which Jesus' divinity is manifest.  First, He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Chronicles 6:30).  Second, He forgives sins, which is a power which belongs to God alone (which the scribes understand in our reading).  Finally, He heals by the power of His word.  

 

While my study Bible duly notes the powers of God manifest in Christ, which testify to His divinity, it's quite interesting that we're told, "Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men."  To my way of thinking, this implies something very special about the Incarnation.  Although clearly the people presume that Jesus is "just" a human being, while the text reveals His divine nature, we understand Jesus to be both divine and human.  In fact, I frequently hear theologians comment on the Incarnation that Jesus was not "half and half" nor any other percentage of human to divine, but rather one hundred percent divine, and one hundred percent human.  That is, in the language of the Church we often hear, fully God and fully human.  So, while in today's reading Jesus displays qualities known to pertain only to God, as the scribes note, the people marvel that such gifts of power have been given to men, to a human being.  In the multitude's marveling, the common people have latched on to a very significant intuition manifest in our understanding of Jesus and His saving mission to us:  it required that He be both fully human and fully God in order for God's work to remain at work in us and in the world.  This is because as His humanity takes on also the qualities of His divinity, so it implies what we human beings are capable of becoming.  It implies, as the people note here, the power that can be at work in us.   This word translated as power, in the Greek (ἐξουσία/exousia), has the implication of "authority."  That means that God has given a human being authority to do such great works, to manifest these powers that are understood to belong to God.  It is a sign of God's grace, that such great works are given to a human being to do; it implies that God shares not just power or energy but authority with humans.  It gives us a sense of God's condescension to us in the Incarnation, God's great love manifest in these actions not merely to heal a paralytic but to enable a human being to share in this divine nature.  It implies to us, and for the rest of us, that through faith, this power can also be at work in us.  None of us, of course, is the Savior.  None of us is the Messiah.  There is only one Jesus Christ.  But nevertheless, through grace, we may also partake of God's authority and power, such as when Jesus sent out the apostles on their first mission, giving them certain power.  In the next chapter,  Matthew writes, "And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease" (Matthew 10:1).  When Jesus "gave them power" to do these things, He shared His own power.  But what makes the people marvel is nevertheless a good intuition, because God's grace can share such power with human beings.  It elevates us to a sense of the things of which we are capable, and this comes only through faith.   When on an occasion the disciples are unable to cast out an unclean spirit, Jesus tells them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting" (Matthew 17:20-21).  We should keep in mind that prayer and fasting are two ways of increasing faith.  When a rich young man cannot bring himself to detach from his wealth in order to follow Jesus, Jesus comments to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And He replies to their astonished question regarding who then can be saved, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (see Matthew 19:21-26).  The Incarnation opens that door for God to work through us by grace, even to share God's power with us, in ways and measures only God knows, but which nevertheless we are assured come through faith.  Christ's Incarnation means that we can understand that reliance upon God -- faith -- can help us through our own difficulties, especially to rise above what we consider our limitations.  We are capable of change and transformation, for this is the heart of repentance and its meaning.  We can break bad habits; a rich person raised in privilege, despite the tremendous difficulty, can detach identity from possessions; a person who's always been told they will amount to nothing is nevertheless blessed in faith by God.  All manner of addictions to which we might find we're slaves can come under the same category of helping grace through faith.  Jesus assures the disciples flatly, in Luke's version of the story of the rich young man, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God" (Luke 18:27).  This is the blessing of shared power, which teaches us that there is so much of which we're capable that we don't know, but that it comes through faith and our seeking of God.  There is more to us in potential than we imagine; let Christ show us the way. Such healing and salvation can come even through the faith of others, as today's reading shows.   Let us not neglect our faith nor the power of the practices that help to shore it up and make it grow in us.  Jesus, as Son of Man, human and divine, has the power to forgive sins.  But through His disciples and His grace, He will even share this in the Church (John 20:21-23). 

 

 

 

Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men

Christ healing the paralytic at Capernaum,  Chora Monastery Church, Constantinople, 1315-1320

 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?  For 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 we read that when Jesus had come to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, 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 came 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.  Jesus, with His disciples, crossed over the Sea of Galilee to return to Capernaum.  His own city is His ministry's headquarters, where Peter  has a family home.

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?  For 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.    There are two things which stand out immediately in this story.  First of all, Jesus is brought a paralytic lying on a bed, seemingly the moment He returns to Capernaum.  We understand that by now Christ is well-known for His healings and all come to Him (particularly in this city).  Second, the scribes also attend to what Jesus is doing, meaning He has now earned their scrutiny as well, as He has become that well-known.  Third, Jesus quite consciously acts in a way to openly challenge the thinking of the scribes (and to reveal that He is aware of their thoughts).  Finally, the fact that there are multitudes that saw it testifies to how well-known He has become, and how openly He is displaying His authority.  My study bible comments that the healing of the paralytic shows us that faith is an indispensable condition for salvation.   The story also gives us, importantly, the understanding that faith is both collective and personal.  It's the faith of the paralytic's friends that help him in his healing.  There are also three signs of Christ's divinity shown here:  He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7, 2 Chronicles 6:30);  He forgives sins, which is a power that belongs to God alone; and He heals by the power of His word.  Let us note also how the crowds marveled and glorified God, as God had given such power to men.  It is another aspect of the Incarnation, as in this sense, the Incarnation of Christ also glorifies humankind.

The mechanisms of the workings of faith are mysterious and intriguing, particularly as how faith works on both an individual and collective (or community) level, as shown in today's reading.   It's important to know that faith works not just one way or the other, but both ways.  Faith works as a kind of network, hidden behind the scenes.  It works directly between creature and Creator, and it also works as a network between human beings, although mediated and energized through Creator.  We can pray for other people, we can pray for ourselves, we can invoke and ask for the prayers of specific others, or collectively within the Church.  It is a network that functions so long as there is a willing voice.  It seems that the slightest opening of the door to faith will result in a far greater outcome than can ever be expected -- as Jesus' illustration of the mustard seed would indicate to us.  It is important to understand this flexibility of faith to work in different ways and on different levels, because in our lives each of us will have different needs at different times.  There will be times when an entire community is affected by particular problems which need to be addressed in prayer.  At those times, communal prayer isn't simply appropriate but perhaps the most beneficial to the members of the community as individuals -- as problems are addressed within that sense of community for each.  In other words, the times when communal prayer teaches us that we are not alone in our struggles can be fundamentally important as part of our own healing in faith.  There are other times when individual prayer is needful and effective, in the sense in which Jesus taught us to pray by going into our room and closing the door, and speaking in secret to our Father who sees in secret (6:6).   This is an intimate level at which prayer works, and the fact that Jesus includes it as a directive in the Sermon on the Mount tells us explicitly how essential this level of faith is to us, especially when we practice prayer.  In Church we pray collectively for those who have passed; in Requiem services we ask the entire Church to pray for our loved ones.  We also collectively invoke the prayers of saints, even as we honor their memory.  In the history of the Church, we are always encouraged to pray for those who have passed -- which teaches us that prayer reaches where nothing else at our disposal can.  So each of us also can do the same on an individual and private level.  Today's reading teaches us the power of the prayers of those who are able to help us, and their effectiveness when we cannot help ourselves, or even if, for some reason, we are unable to pray.  Whatever the circumstances, the Scripture seems to tell us, faith is effective.  All it takes is initiative, both collective and individual.  Whatever the circumstances, we are encouraged to be creative with our prayers, and flexible -- to know that our Father in heaven awaits our call, and that help is at hand.  In these very important ways, the power of prayer is given to us in an unlimited sense.  It calls on us to remember that "with God all things are possible" (19:26).  In today's reading, the crowds glorify God, who "had given such power to men."  While we are not all Christ, all of us have access to prayer and therefore to Christ, and to Father and the Spirit.  God makes this very communion with us possible, and our faith is the one thing necessary.  Let us think, also, about the power expressed in today's reading.  Do the people marvel at the power to heal paralysis, or to forgive sins?  Perhaps, indeed, the answer is simply both, as Jesus would seem to indicate.  In the understanding of the Church, paralysis itself is seen as a kind of analogy to sin.  When we struggle with sin, we are "stuck" somewhere, seemingly unable to move forward in our journey of faith.  Let us remember that prayer helps us to heal from all kinds of ailments, both seen and unseen.  If we need forgiveness, or help with our capacity to forgive others, it awaits simply our faith at work through prayer, on any level.  This is a power He has given to all of us.  It heals us as individuals, even as we are healed also in community.

I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house

 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

- Mark 2:1-12

Yesterday we read that as soon as Jesus and the others had come out of the synagogue at Capernaum, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.  At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.  Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"  So far in Mark's Gospel, throughout chapter 1, we have observed Jesus as Liberator, the One who lifts the oppression both of demons and human suffering.  Here, that effect of liberation takes on another of its spiritual aspects.  My study bible comments that one purpose of Christ's coming into the world is to forgive sins.  This is a freeing of humanity from another sort of bondage.  To forgive sins, it notes, is an even greater power than physical healing.  As the scribes note correctly, God alone can forgive sins.  Therefore, the easier task is to grant physical healing.  Moreover, even though Christ is fully God, and He holds the authority to forgive, here He condescends to those gathered and heals this man in order to draw people to God, whom they glorified.

In the tradition of the Church, paralysis has been viewed as a symbolic representation of sin.  When we sin, it is as if we are stuck in a particular place of repetition and lack of growth.   Sin is habitual; there is something that might be a particular weakness, or a place of ignorance in which we function in ways that are limited and damaging -- harmful to ourselves or to others.  In this case, the healing of the paralytic illustrates that no such healing takes place without the presence of faith.  But faith isn't limited to our own efforts alone.  The prayers of others can help to bring healing, illumination, and divine energy in the form of grace to a problem in which we are "stuck."  When we're too paralyzed to help ourselves, the prayers of others may avail to bring to us the energies we need, help for healing whatever it is that has us frozen in our behavior or habit, unable to overcome what it is that binds us in a  particular place.  One bad habit may be anger that overboils too easily, a habit of seeking to find blame elsewhere when we really need to take a look at our own behaviors that are faulty or ill-advised.  The blindness that has us stuck in habitual behavior that causes us problems can be a sort of paralysis, an inability to see further down the line of our own possible changes, an incapacity to grasp just how things might go better if we did our own work of growth.  Faith works not only to connect us with something bigger and greater than ourselves, to take us beyond our own "stuck" places, but also to draw on strengths and wisdom and the grace to overcome habitual behaviors.  It makes us capable of using spiritual "muscles" and "strength" we did otherwise do not know we have.  In today's reading, the friends who help the paralytic not only conceive of bringing him on his bed to Christ, but faith makes such an effort with them and among them to facilitate his healing that they collectively come up with the idea to lower him through the roof -- something so unusual it is reported to us until today in the Gospels.  Faith makes this persistence and creativity, this capacity for thinking outside of our own boxes possible.  Faith connects us to wisdom and intelligence through grace, to energies that supply us with what is necessary when we don't have these resources of ourselves alone.  In this sense, today's reading is a brilliant illustration of the power of faith -- and that collective prayer can do things for us when we can do nothing of ourselves, even when we may find ourselves unable to pray for ourselves.  In turn, it teaches us what our prayers may do for others that they haven't found a way to do for themselves as well.  Faith connects us to the Source of our liberation, our freedom from bondage and slavery to that which keeps us stuck, pinned down, chained to something we'd like to break free of but can't quite do it of ourselves.  We should not underestimate the strength found in prayer, as we come to learn reliance on God and God's grace for what we need.  Even through others, faith connects us to that which is meant for our good, and can lift us up from the beds we've made for ourselves.  This is part of the journey of faith.  Christ offers His command for us to arise; but this is only possible through that which opens us up to those potentials beyond the "stuck" place we remain without Him.

Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven you," or to say, "Arise, take up your bed and walk"?

 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power of earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

- Mark 2:1-12

Yesterday, we read that as soon as Jesus and the others had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.  At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.  Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place;  and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could not longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power of earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"  There are many things we can see in today's reading.  We first notice how the crowd now gathers for Jesus.  As characterizes Mark's gospel, His fame has been "immediate."  All come to Him, and here in Peter's house, their Capernaum headquarters, they are so crowded that no one can even be received into the house.  The desire to see Christ is so great that the friends of this paralytic uncover the roof to get him to Christ.  It is a great symbol for prayer.  What my study bible notes is that one purpose of Christ's coming into the world is to forgive sins.  This is liberation, a freeing of humanity from its bondage.  To forgive sins really is a greater power than physical healing, because -- as the scribes do know -- God alone can forgive sins (as God alone is judge).  In this true perspective, it really is the easier task to grant physical healing.  My study bible says that although Christ is fully God and holds the authority therefore to forgive, He condescends to those gathered and heals this man in order to draw people to God, whom they glorified. 

One aspect of paralysis in Gospels is its analogy to sin.  Sin is a kind of paralysis in the sense of becoming stuck.  In the brain, one imagines sin as a kind of endless loop -- a pattern of behavior that becomes ingrained.  Whether this can be a form of sin such as exploiting and harming others, the habit of selfishness, or whatever form that sin may take, it is a kind of rut.  It is a limited way of functioning in life, and it is a type of handicap.  To know the greater fullness of what we can be with God's help is to function in fuller levels, to become more "enlightened," to learn flexibility and growth -- all a kind of opposite of what paralysis suggests to us.  Forgiveness itself, as a sign of love, is a great form of flexibility, of growth, and of movement forward.  It indicates "not being stuck."  It means that one has many options open -- an expanded and enhanced sense of what is possible and open to oneself.  Again, we see the contrast with the symbol of paralysis. Perhaps sin is above all a type of ignorance, a way of remaining limited, locking possibilities away from oneself.  Patterns of behavior that are selfish tend to be like this; they are extremely limiting to a person in terms of who they are, who they think they are, and particularly in terms of how they may relate to others -- and especially whether or not they increase their capacity for growth and love and potential in relationships of all sorts.  The four friends who help this paralytic get to Christ tell us a tremendous story of the communion of saints, and the relationships that love can create.  For one who may be "stuck," prayer is perhaps the only answer, reaching to the One who can truly heal, as my study bible indicates about the forgiveness of sins.  In this sense, forgiveness become liberation, a freedom from our paralysis -- but of course, only if we can embrace it, accept it.  In another sense, we can see paralysis as affliction that results from being sinned against and hurt.  The need then for forgiveness becomes one that we must work at ourselves, giving sin to God so that we are healed, even praying for our enemies so that we are not limited by the cruelties or sinful behaviors of others.  If this seems paradoxical, consider that forgiveness is a kind of contract one makes to give up sin ("forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors")  to God, and allow God to negotiate the outcome.  In this is freedom and healing, and growth in love.  As limitation, sin is a kind of paralysis, an affliction we hold onto or not.  As healer, Christ brings a better way, a state of grace, a negotiation, if one may see it that way, in order to free us from our limits and set us apart for His love instead.

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you"

 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?  For 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, we read that after Jesus and the disciples had crossed a stormy Sea of Galilee, and He had come to the other side, 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 came 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.   Jesus' own city is Capernaum, His ministry "headquarters" and home to several of His disciples.  Peter's family has a house there (Matthew 8:14-15, Mark 1:29-31, Luke 4:38-39).

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?  For 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.  This may be a parallel to the story of the paralytic who was lowered through the roof of the house (Mark 2:4-12, Luke 5:19-26).  My study bible says that this story shows that faith is an indispensable condition for salvation.  Faith is also collective as well as personal -- the faith of this paralytic's friends helped in his healing.  It draws us back to ancient Israel, drawn and shaped as community to be a people of God.  My study bible tells us there are three signs shown here of Jesus' divinity:  First, He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7, 2 Chronicles 6:30).  Second, He forgives sins, which is a power belonging to God alone, as the scribes know.  Finally, He heals by the power of His word, as we have already seen in several readings in Matthew.

We really need to ask ourselves, "What is faith?"  Is it just an expressed belief?  I think faith is more than just belief or assent to something.  It means that our actions bear out this faith.  The heart of who we are is made in faith, created and constructed into the shape of something, and reflective of that faith.   That means we act accordingly.  In the Greek, the word for faith is reflective of the word "trust."  It means we trust in something (and in this case, Someone), or we trust that something is so.  Faith is indispensable to Jesus' healing miracles.  (In the story of the healing of the demoniac(s) in yesterday's reading, the Gospels of Mark and Luke tell us he fell at Jesus' feet, in a position of worship.)   Here, faith is of a community, in the body of the friends of the man who was brought to Jesus.  It tells us that faith can be shared.  The paralytic cannot come on his own, but the faith of his friends who bring him is evident here as Jesus remarks upon it.  We can pray for others, we can share faith between us that way.  Ultimately, faith is also about relationship.  Christ comes to the world incarnate in human form.  We worship God as a Person, or Three Persons -- Father, Son, and Spirit.  The faith we know isn't just in principles or morals or even values, it begins with Persons.  Why do we follow Jesus' word?  Why do we trust in it?  Because it is the word of the Person in whom we trust.   It is the connection with the divine Person in which we have our faith, it is Jesus who gives us the word, the Son who is the Word.  We worship, and have faith in, the Person who is truth ("I am the way, the truth, and the life" - John 14:6).  It is within this relationship that we start to really understand the meanings and ramifications of faith.  And we have to look at these stories and ask ourselves why faith creates such a strong bond that there are no miracles or healings without it.  We have to think about why there are places where Jesus can do none of His great works, because of the lack of faith in that place, one of which was His hometown of Nazareth (Matthew 13:58, Mark 6:5-6).  And He condemns places where He finds a lack of faith.  So we begin by understanding faith as relationship, and from there we see how Jesus responds to faith and what faith means exactly.  Faith is something we live, and it is something that forms and shapes our lives, both within the heart and the acts that come from the heart.   This is an active kind of reality, that necessitates prayer as dialogue, an active relationship to God.  It is an internal seeking that always actively desires discernment and direction, in which God's word becomes a "lamp unto my feet" as it says in the Psalms.   Faith goes even deeper within ourselves, creating persona in us, giving us an image of our own capability and even identity, revealing more as we travel deeper into relationship.  It is like a marriage, in which what we become is also reflective of this deep relationship of trust.  Within such faith God operates and lives.  As we're told in today's story, this depth of relationship comes from the One who already knows our hearts; in faith, we participate in that depth of relationship with God.  We come to know Jesus' word that "the kingdom of God is within you" and "in the midst of you"  (the Greek implies both).   This quality of relationship teaches us that faith isn't about a philosophy or a set of values or rules, or merely an intellectual construct.  It's not an abstract.  It's an active reality that shapes who we are and what we do, what we choose.   And, just as the people in today's reading marvel and glorify God, who had given such power to men, it means that we're not just a product of the material life around ourselves.   It isn't something predictable on our terms, like some sort of political platform.  Faith is something we live; it builds, shapes, transforms who we are.  Are we ready for that challenge?

When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth

"These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.

"And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."

- John 16:1-15

This week, we have been reading from Jesus' farewell discourse to His Apostles, at the Last Supper. In yesterday's passage, Jesus reminded them of His new commandment: "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." He said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." Jesus reminded them that He calls them friends; He has revealed Himself and all things He heard from His Father to all of them. And He reminded them again: "These things I command you, that you love one another." Then He warned that if the world hated Him, it would hate them also. And He said, "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning."

"These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them." His warnings to them (and to us) are made out of love, so that they know what to expect, what is coming. He will be persecuted, and so will they. Indeed, the reference here is stark: "Whoever kills you will think that he offers God service."

"And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you." In the beginning, He was with them: He could protect and comfort them. But now, in this farewell discourse, He is explaining that He is leaving them, going away -- but that it is to their advantage that He does so, because the Helper, the Spirit of truth will come to them. They do not even think to ask where He is going, because they are filled with sorrow at His words. My study bible explains rather elaborately about this word, sorrow. It says that sorrow, here, means "extreme grief, leading to a state of severe depression." It explains the history of the Church's belief of the dangers of despondency, a type of sin of the passions. St. John Chrysostom has written, "Great is the tyranny of despondency." It notes, "Even when the world hates true Christians, they must not become despondent but take comfort from the Holy Spirit. The disciples are troubled not only because Jesus is leaving them, but also because of the ongoing struggle between light and darkness, between Jesus and the prince of this world." If we are to understand correctly, then, it would seem that falling into deep despair asks of us faith as the remedy, the comfort of the Comforter, reminding us that we are not alone, even under any circumstances. We recall also the words of St. Paul, which seem to apply here: " Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

"And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged." Speaking of the Spirit of truth, the Comforter or Helper, Jesus continues. And He lays down, here, a role for the Spirit: He will act to bring out the truth, to expose righteousness as well as sin, and to bring judgment on the ruler of this world. It is the response to the Spirit that will prove out these things, the true things of the heart which Christ knows and understands.

"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you." Their sorrow is so great that they cannot bear the other "many things" that He has to say to them. But there is a deep promise here. Like all else in this speech, it is made directly to the Apostles, minus Judas who will betray Him; they are the ones who have been with Him from the beginning. But it is also implicitly the promise made to us about the Spirit of truth. His words are worth repeating, so that we understand this promise fully, and think about them: He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. Just as Christ represented, manifested, the Father in the world, so the role of the Spirit is to represent both Christ and the Father in the world. All three are inseparable; where there is the Spirit, there is Christ and "all things" of the Father. This is our promise. We are not left alone, but will be guided into all truth.

Let us consider the work of the Holy Spirit in the world. Certainly we count that the Holy Spirit has worked through the Church, and continues to do so. The Spirit works in our lives, active and powerful. His promise is real, it is for us, for all of us. The ways in which the Spirit works are too mysterious for us to count, to recall them all in some sort of formula, but we know where the Spirit has been. It is in John's Gospel, in chapter 3, that we read Jesus' words about the Spirit: "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." Let us consider all the saints of history, the "great cloud of witnesses" as St. Paul has put it. How has the Spirit worked in each of them? Saints are not necessarily what we would call "perfect people." No, they are instead people who have been transformed, brought to greater and deeper persona in the image of Christ, in the things that are of the Father. They are those "called out" of this world, and brought into focus and light from the Father, who empowers, personifies, magnifies and challenges through Christ and the Spirit's work in the world, and relationship to us. God calls them to be who they are, rather than simply "fitting in." Paul Evdokimov has written, "Holiness is nothing but an unquenchable thirst, the intensity of the desire for God. . . . The saints are souls of longing."

Let us once again consider the words of St. Paul. We are here to run the race, and to finish it, and not give up. The Spirit will prove out and illuminate all things. It will guide us in the Way, and teach us where we are wrong, how we need to change. Let us work together with our Helper, in His name, so that we too will fight that good fight of faith, finish the course given us to race -- and know that we are not alone.

Who can forgive sins but God alone?

And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately the leprosy left him. And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded." However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. Then behold, men brought up on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you." And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"

- Luke 5:12-26

In yesterday's reading, Luke's Gospel gave us the story of Jesus with the fishermen of Galilee. He told Simon Peter to put his nets down in a certain place, despite the fact that they'd already been fishing all night without luck. There were so many fish the nets were breaking -- Simon Peter called his partners John and James Zebedee and they began to empty the nets into their boats. There was such a catch that the boats began to sink. Simon Peter said, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" Jesus told him, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men."

And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus continues on His ministry, and is by now well-known as a healer. Leprosy, my study bible says, was one of the most dread diseases of the time -- causing great suffering and total banishment from society. In the context of Jewish society, it was also seen as an affliction of the spiritually "unclean."

Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately the leprosy left him. And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded." As it is not yet time to be revealed as Messiah, Jesus instructs the man to tell no one. But there is one exception: in order to be admitted back into the community, he must have a certificate from a priest. So, Jesus instructs him to follow the laws of Moses, and be restored to the society. It's important in the context of the reading that we are taught that Jesus obeys the obligations of the laws of Moses that form the backbone of religious life. My study bible says, "Jesus touched this man, both sick and an outcast. In the healing of this leper, the Lord also demonstrates there is no one in society who is to be left untouched by His gospel."

However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. The "uncontainable" cannot be contained in the context of the society, either (just as we read of the abundance of fish yesterday). Despite Jesus' instructions to tell no one, He becomes even more known as a healer in a world desperate for His touch. But note Jesus' response, seemingly "paradoxical" -- it is to withdraw further into the wilderness for prayer. He always returns to the Father, the first place He goes for His life and mission and sustenance. So we should do likewise.

Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. Jesus' ministry also includes the important work of teaching -- it is not simply a healing ministry, responding to the immediate demands of the multitudes. There is also needed time for praying and for teaching. I love this phrase, and am intrigued by it: "And the power of the Lord was present to heal them." It gives us a sense again of everything in its time, and all as a gift from above -- not our will, not our timing nor expectations, not our thoughts, but the work of God. Note that Jesus' ministry and fame have spread, so that now it is not only Galileans present, but also those from "every town" of Judea, and Jerusalem.

Then behold, men brought up on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you." This is an important story, because it illustrates another aspect of faith -- persistence. And not just persistence, but also the help of others that can be employed in bringing us to the place of reconciliation that we need to be. Everything works toward this gift, and all our efforts on behalf of getting there -- including help such as prayer from others -- are emphatically approved of in this story. We need to show our part, our desire too. We keep trying. We must really want it. And, there may be obstacles to overcome to get there; that should not discourage us.

And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. We have just read of the "unclean" man, the leper, who has been healed. Affliction was commonly seen as the result of sin in some form or another, either personal or perhaps parental. So, the forgiveness of sin was linked with curing of illness and disease. Those skilled in the knowledge of the Scripture are all too aware of this, and so they unwittingly reveal another facet of Jesus' identity: the ability to forgive sins. In Him, every part of us is reconciled; there is nothing in us that is to be neglected. As the leper was restored to society, so is this man -- albeit in a highly spectacular way. He is able to take up his bed and walk home, once again upright, in his place, as was Simon Peter's mother-in-law in a recent reading. Note that the paralytic gives thanks where thanks is due -- he knows from whence his healing comes. He goes home, glorifying God.

And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!" This word "strange" in the Greek is the same root word from which we derive the word "paradoxical." It means that which is unexpected, astonishing because it is contrary to expectation or opinion. And so it is, truly, even to the experts, when the work of God is among us. The work of the holy "blows where it wishes." It is not something we expect or know beforehand, and it is possible that we might miss it in its "unexpected" and paradoxical nature. It is outside of the box. A revelation, then, is just that: something that will astonish, and perhaps create conflict and debate -- a sword.

It is into the realm of mystery that we dive today -- into the unexpected, the strange, the "paradoxical." We can't predict the work of God. We might expect Jesus to step up his healing ministry when there is so much demand, but instead we are told that He withdraws increasingly into the wilderness to pray. To forgive sins is astounding to those who understand the law and Scriptures, but the healing becomes even more spectacular when "the power of the Lord is present to heal." God's revelation in our lives may also take on what we find paradoxical and astonishing qualities. We may fight with all our might against what we believe cannot or should not be so. But the holy is uncontainable -- God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor God's ways our ways. And when it breaks into our world, it must be against our own barriers and understanding, and it is our faith that teaches us in what we trust, what we accept. Are you ready for that mystery and that faith? Will you do what it takes to get there, despite the obstacles?