Word to the Wise
Thursday, July 1, 2021 - Thursday in the 13th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 22:1b-19 and Matt 9:1-8]After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town. And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven." [Matthew]
The evangelist Matthew leaves out one of the most colorful features of the story of the paralytic. In Mark and Luke, the stretcher bearers take the paralytic up on the roof of the house and lower him down through the ceiling! But, the focus of the story is not on the healing of the paralytic but on Jesus' authority to forgive sins! The closing lines of the story make this clear: "When the crowds say this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to men." Their reaction is a bit premature in that Jesus had not yet given that authority (to forgive sins) to the church, but the crowd saw only another human being!
One feature of this story, however, always captures my attention. Jesus sees the faith of the stretcher bearers. Their faith is what brings that paralytic to Jesus. Sometimes it is a "community of faith" that inspires someone paralyzed by sin to come to faith and to the sacrament of reconciliation. Occasionally I find myself facing someone in that sacrament who has never experienced it because they aren't Catholic! Other times, the person had only experienced the sacrament when they made First Communion and/or Confirmation! The presence of these individuals is testimony to the faith of others who urged them and inspired them to take advantage of this form of God's mercy and forgiveness. The power of our own good example and faith should never be discounted. AMEN