Out of fashion

GOSPEL

(Faith helps us to see what God is really for each one of us and enables us to see the power of God. Faith changes hearts and converts people.)

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark (2:1-12)

When Jesus returned to Capernaum, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your pallet and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – he said to the paralytic – “I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home.” And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
This is the Gospel of the Lord

HOMILY

“Sin” is out of fashion! It has become a thing of the past and so seeking for forgiveness is something outdated. In the past, people were over-conscious of sin; we in our time are unconscious of it. Instead of calling evil and wrong actions sins, we call them sociological aberrations, or abnormalities, or problems from childhood, or – to use a psychological phrase – guilt feelings.

There is much that happens in today’s gospel; much that we can talk about. Clearly, the point the story – the point which the Church wishes us to realize – is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Mary, has power to forgive sins. Perhaps this is obvious to us. It certainly was not obvious to the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day. And what is not always obvious to people today is that Jesus has given this power and authority to forgive sins to other men – specifically, to his priests. Note what he says: “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth.” In other words, he is exercising, in his human nature, an authority which is proper to his divine nature. The scribes said, “Who but God alone can forgive sins?” And certainly this is true. Only God can forgive sins. But he is pleased to extend this power of forgiveness to the frail human instruments of his priests. And this is the basis for our sacrament of penance and reconciliation.

In today’s gospel we encounter two categories of people and they are “Carriers” and “Barriers”. “Carriers” are people who, though apparently outsiders, have the faith in Jesus and in his healing powers. Their faith in the Lord enables them to bring the paralyzed person to him. These four people believed in Jesus and so succeeded to overcome the barriers to reach him, motivated by the belief that Jesus would do what he had done to so many others. This great sign of faith expressed by these men shows that if one is able to look beyond one’s paralysis, impediments or blocks and surrender oneself to the healing and forgiving love of Jesus, one is going to experience the wholeness which the Lord alone can give to his or her life. Today’s gospel reminds us that we must always look for ways to bring people to Christ, and to bring Christ to them, whatever their need may be. Perhaps they need healing in body or mind – let us bring them to Christ.

The second group “Barriers”, though they are seemingly inside with Jesus, remain always outside and want to attract people who are really inside with Jesus to come away from within and find fault with him. The scribes, the adversaries of Jesus, were not concerned about the healing of the paralytic but to the adherence of the law. For Jesus to declare the man’s sins forgiven is for Jesus to assume the role of God and thus lay claim to being God. This is blasphemy. The scribes in no way would accept that a human person can forgive sins and when Jesus forgives the sins of the paralytic, they could only accuse Jesus and further move away from him. Today’s people are not too far from the times and understandings of the scribes. There are people among us who apparently claim to be inside but remain as a barrier in going to Jesus and encountering him. Those people who insist on the practice of the law, who cling on to the rubrics of the celebrations, who oppose any creativity that make our liturgical celebrations more meaningful and experiential, who interpret scriptures and traditions to suit their whims and fancies, and who claim to have the possession, in fact monopoly, of the Spirit miss the grand opportunity to encounter and experience the Lord who is inside waiting for us come in. These people attempt to reduce the grandeur and the mystery of such experiences into mere human calculations and interpretations. The Pharisees too depended on the law and meticulously practised it and remember Jesus rebuked them and challenged them to change and grow. We may not be paralysed in our body but surely we are paralysed by our sins, our paralysis is less visible but just as real and it can turn us away from God and into selfish, overbearing, dictatorial, self-righteous, resentful, angry, unhappy people – the complete opposite to what God intends for us to be and that is why we can approach God with the same conviction, commitment and faith as the stretcher bearers described in the Scriptures. Each of us can be cleansed and made whole by that same love encapsulated in the statement “my child, your sins are forgiven”. Let us then become carriers of His love, compassion and forgiveness and not barriers to his grace and blessings.