"I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home."
Mk 2:1-12
Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them.
There were so many people who wanted to listen to Jesus that the four men carrying the paralytic could not get through. The words of Jesus were powerful. His style was attractive. But most of all, his message touched their hearts.
When we read the Bible there will be moments when we will experience the same thing. It will help if we underline or highlight those words or phrases that touched us. Once in a while we may return to those words in order to be encouraged, inspired, comforted or strengthened.
In my case one of the passages that gave me great comfort and re-assurance is: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine. When you pass through the water, I will be with you; in the rivers you shall not drown. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned; the flames shall not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior” (Is 43:1-3). I am fortunate that this passage has been made into a song and I often listen to it.
But for God to touch us with his Word, we must first own a Bible. The Bible is not just any kind of book. It is like a letter that he wrote to communicate us. God does not want to be a silent God. He does not want to be a distant God.
After buying a Bible, we must set aside some time to read the it prayerfully. Setting aside 10 to 15 minutes every day will do. Reading the Bible prayerfully means that as we read it we are alert as to what God might want to say to us at that very moment. And if God does tell us something, we respond to him.
I have said at the beginning that we should underline or highlight those passages that inspire us. This will help us find those passages more easily if we want to read them again for comfort or inspiration or encouragement.
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith….
If they didn’t believe that Jesus could cure the paralytic, do you think they would go through the trouble of climbing the roof, of pulling the paralytic up the roof, of making a hole through the roof, of lowering the paralytic down the hole, and later of having to repair the hole they had made?
Faith is not something that only happens in the mind and in the heart. Faith is a force that moves us to action. And sometimes the action is just as simple as the following story--
“It was a Sunday. But it felt worse than Monday blues. The fridge just held water. The cupboard was bare. Payday was still a few days away and our moneybag didn't hold enough to get us through the day. Gina and I were afraid we'd go hungry. We weighed our options and prayed to God for help. Gina then asked if we should proceed going to mass. I said "Yes. God has never let us down. There is no reason to doubt." When we got home after the mass, we got the surprise of our lives. On our doorway were baskets of vegetables and fruits. They came unexpectedly from our godfather from Bicol – more than enough to last us a week.” Because the husband believed that God would provide them food, they went ahead and went to Mass. And as we saw God did not let them down.
The 4 men did not only have faith in Jesus. I think they also loved the paralytic. They were willing to go through the trouble of bringing him in front of Jesus because they cared about him. They wanted him to be cured. When we love someone, we are willing to make any sacrifice for that person.
One of our priests has only one kidney now. Why? His kuya’s kidneys were no longer functioning. He had to undergo dialysis. The only hope was a kidney transplant. This priest was the best match. He willingly gave his kidney to his kuya so that his kuya might continue to live.
It is easy to have a child. But it takes a lot of sacrifice to raise a child. One teenaged boy shared this story with me. In those days, there were no cellphones yet. He arrived home 2:00 in the morning. He was surprised to see both of his parents still awake. Perhaps, because of anger his mother gave him a slap on the face. She told him: “Don’t you know how worried we were? We were afraid something might have happened to you. You didn’t even call up to tell us you were arriving home at this time.” They could have slept. But they didn’t because they were worried and they were worried because they loved their son.
He (Jesus) said to the paralytic, "Child, your sins are forgiven." Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?"
True. Only God can forgive sins because all sins are ultimately an offense against God. But it is also true that God uses human instruments.
For example, he used the prophets to deliver his message to his people. That is why the prophets would begin their preaching with words like these: “Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD….” (Ez 36:22).
By becoming a human being, God made use of our humanity as an instrument to save us. If the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity did not become man, how can the crucifixion take place? There is no body to be crucified.
Because God makes use of human instruments, it is, therefore, not surprising that God makes use of priests who are human beings to forgive sins.
A high school student admitted that he doesn’t go to confession anymore. The reason is because priests are after human beings who also commit sins. But if we accept this logic, then no one of us should go to the doctor when we are sick because you can never find a doctor who never got sick.
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, pick up your mat and walk?'
Obviously it is easier to say “Your sins are forgiven” than to say: “Rise, pick up you mat and walk”. When you say “Your sins are forgiven”, there is no way for people to see whether the sins have been really forgiven. But if you say, “Rise, pick up your mat and walk”, people can see if your words are effective or not.
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth" —he said to the paralytic, "I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home." He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone.
The miracles of Jesus are signs. They say something. In this case, making the man walk is a sign that indeed his sins were forgiven and consequently, that Jesus does have the power to forgive sins.
The external says something about the internal. The external is like a window through which we can have a glimpse of what is happening in inside. Our speech, for example, can give us an idea of what is going on inside the heart and mind of a person. We have a saying that a fish is caught in the mouth (ang isda ay nahuhuli sa bibig).
We encounter people who are often critical of another person. He or she likes to talk about the shortcomings of other people. What could be going on in-side this person? It is possible that he or she has a low self-esteem. It means that he or she does not have a high regard for himself or herself and thus, feels inferior to others. To relieve his sense of inferiority he has to bring others down through criticism.
Our speech is a good indicator of what is happening inside. What do we often talk about? What often comes out of our mouth? Is it criticism? Is it hurtful words? Is it about ourselves, our talents, our achievements, our possessions? Is it gossip about others?
Jesus healed the man of his paralysis. He also forgave him his sins. Jesus performed a physical and a spiritual healing. In other words, Jesus performed a holistic healing and this shows that he was concerned about the good of the whole person. He was concerned about his body and his soul.
Parents can learn something about parenting from the example of Jesus. Parents need to take care of all the needs of their children. What are they?
It is not enough to send your children to school, to buy him clothes, to feed him, and to provide him shelter. Those answer his intellectual and physical needs. But children also have emotional needs. Do you have time for your children? Do you make an effort to have a happy marriage? A happy marriage gives to your children emotional security.
Your children need your guidance. Do you talk to your children? Do they find it easy to talk to you? Do you pass to your children the wisdom you gained from life?
One of our priests shared with me this story. When he was in high school, he was with his father on their way home. They passed by the sugar mill. And his father made this observation: “Do you know that inside that warehouse is a mountain of sugar? And yet you will not find a single ant inside. Do you know why?” And he replied, “No.” And his father continued: “Because the mountain of sugar dehydrates the ants. It sucks the fluid out of the ants. That is life. Even good things, when used to excess, is harmful.” His father used that moment to pass on to his son some nuggets of wisdom.
Your children have spiritual needs. Do you teach your children to pray? Do you bring them to church? Do you share your faith with your children?
A father shared his faith experience with his children. He told them that he believed in Divine Providence because there were times when there was not enough money and the time for giving the salary to his employees was just around the corner. But somehow the money would come.
To be a parent is a great gift and a great responsibility. At the end of your life, what will give you the greatest happiness? Is it the millions that you have in the bank? Or is it your children all grown up, with a happy family and financially secure? All because you have raised them well.
Jesus cared for the whole person. Take care of your children, body and soul, heart and mind. Raise them up not only for this life but also for the life to come.
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