Skip to main content

‘My son, your sins are forgiven’ (...). ‘Stand up, take up your mat and go home’


Gospel text (Mark 2,1-12): Jesus returned to Capernaum. As the news spread that he was at home, so many people gathered that there was no longer room even outside the door.
While Jesus was preaching the Word to them, some people brought a paralyzed man to him. The four men who carried him couldn't get near Jesus because of the crowd, so they opened the roof above the room where Jesus was and, through the hole, lowered the man on his mat. When Jesus saw the faith of these people, he said to the paralytic, «My son, your sins are forgiven».
Now, some teachers of the Law who were sitting there wondered within themselves, «How can he speak like this insulting God? Who can forgive sins except God?».
At once Jesus knew through his spirit what they were thinking and asked, «Why do you wonder? Is it easier to say to this paralyzed man: ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say: ‘Rise, take up your mat and walk?’ But now you shall know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins». And he said to the paralytic, «Stand up, take up your mat and go home».
The man rose and, in the sight of all those people, he took up his mat and went out. All of them were astonished and praised God saying, «We have never seen anything like this!».

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

When God is offended, should we become violent?

Our God is all love and truth, who asks from us humility and forgiveness. Our God is the only living God. He has the word of eternal life. Observing the process of the current protests in the Middle East and many other places in the world by the so called followers of Islam, presumably outraged because they do not like what is being presented in a film about their prophet; it is interesting to distinguish that factual truth, about what is missing in the whole staging of these protests and it is precisely, truth, love, humility and forgiveness and it is not precisely from the ignorant mobs perpetrating the assaults under the direction of their evil leaders, but from the ones supposedly protecting the basic and fundamental freedoms we all in the western civilization which is founded in Christianity, have for granted.

Common Good

It is often found commentaries that describe common good as extremes of anarchy, as expressions that on one end present a justification for system interference and on the other as an idea of omnipotence over the people who is typically labeled as mediocre and incapable of deciding on their own about their matters and circumstances. However, common good is divine a mandate we all have as individuals; to aim for and to work towards. It is what defines the relationship between science and reason, because a science where its object is to benefit only the self or to enhance the egos of the recipients is what defies reason and so it segregates itself from faith which is what make us creatures of God with dignity, identity and individuality because care exists for our neighbor and peer. Common good cannot be taking or confiscating from some to give to others or to pretend that by robbing from the ones that have to presumably give to the have not, the issue is fairly addressed. On the contra...