Word to the Wise
Monday, December 7, 2020 - 2nd Week of Advent - Mon
[Isa 35:1-10 and Luke 5:17-26]Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those who are frightened: be strong, fear not! Here is your God.....Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing.....[Isaiah] And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "As for you, your sins are forgiven." [Luke]
DECEMBER 7 ST. AMBROSE, bishop and doctor of the church
The scene from the Gospel According to Luke in which a paralyzed man is brought by caring friends on a stretcher and lowered through the roof shows me the importance of those very friends. I am blessed with student friends here at Texas Tech who are studying to become Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists and engineers of all kinds. I know they would be able to figure out how to help the paralytic get to Jesus and have Isaiah's prophecy come true! Note that Jesus sees the faith of the stretcher-bearers and responds to it in favor of the paralytic!!
None of this matters to the scribes and Pharisees who focus on whether or not Jesus has the power to forgive sins! The paralytic and his friends may as well not exist! Those who want to help bring others to Jesus will sometimes meet with this kind of carping legalism. Pope Francis' vision of the church as a hospital for the sick and wounded is lost to the scribes and Pharisees of our day.
The seasons of Advent and Christmas, which our secular culture calls "the holidays," under "ordinary" circumstances are tough on many people, but in this time of pandemic, all kinds of troubles become magnified. Illness, loss of all kinds, political turmoil - all these cry out loudly and need healing. A kind of numb paralysis void of hope can set in. Can we be the caring friends with the stretcher? Can we bring Isaiah's hope to others? The practical actions of caring friends can make all the difference in the world to those who are paralyzed! AMEN