Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 7, 2020
One day as Jesus was teaching,
Pharisees and teachers of the law,
who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,
were sitting there,
and the power of the Lord was with him for healing.
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.”
Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves,
“Who is this who speaks blasphemies?
Who but God alone can forgive sins?”
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply,
“What are you thinking in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”–
he said to the one who was paralyzed,
“I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He stood up immediately before them,
picked up what he had been lying on,
and went home, glorifying God.
Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God,
and, struck with awe, they said,
“We have seen incredible things today.”
Jesus heals many people in the Gospels. This healing of the paralytic, however, gives us a powerful message that the other miracle stories do not. Not only was the man in this passage suffering from a debilitating condition, but he was in need of constant help, unable to do anything on his own. Even if he wanted to, he could not have gone to Jesus for help by himself. He needed the constant assistance of his friends and family, and it looks like he had a pretty good group of guys to lend him a hand. These men decided to bring their friend to Christ to be healed, even tearing off a roof to do so. It could be that their motive for doing this was that they were tired of caring for their friend day and night for years, but Jesus healed the man—not only because of his own faith, but because of the faith of his friends.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I lead people to Jesus not because I’m tired of dealing with their problems, but because only Jesus can cure illnesses, heal wounds, and quench thirst. And just as I have experienced God’s merciful love freeing me from the paralyzing chains of sin, fear, and anxiety, I know that he can do the same for others. My friends do not need more self-help books or continual amateur therapy sessions with me. They need to be touched by the one who can fill the deepest holes in their heart: Jesus. When we are called to comfort those who come to us in despair, let us be inspired by this gospel to carry them to Jesus.
Prayer
Lord, how wonderful is the power you manifest in today’s gospel. You not only healed the paralyzed man of his physical infirmity, you also healed him of his sins by forgiving him. May you heal us of everything that separates us from you and help us to serve you as faithfully as the friends of the paralytic served him by carrying his stretcher and placing it at your feet. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Although St. Ambrose is a great saint in his own right—he had a brilliant mind, was a political star of his time, and is one of the thirty-seven doctors of the Church—he is perhaps best remembered for prompting the conversion of the great St. Augustine.
He was born to a Roman family of nobility and had several siblings who also became saints: Marcellina and Satyrus. He was educated in Rome and became known as an eloquent and convincing speaker.
He was trained in the law and was noticed by important politicians in Rome. He was appointed the governor of Milan, one of the most important offices in the empire, before he was 35 years old.
Milan’s bishop died and a controversy arose as to who should succeed him. The dispute threatened violence, so Ambrose went to plead with the crowds himself. While he was speaking, a voice shouted, “Ambrose, bishop!” and the whole crowd took up the cry. Both sides of the dispute unanimously proclaimed him bishop of Milan, even though Ambrose was not yet baptized.
Ambrose tried to escape the election by appealing to the emperor, who simply said that he was pleased to appoint governors worthy of being also bishops. Ambrose next tried hiding in the home of a friend who was a senator but was given up. Finally, on this date in 374, he yielded and was baptized. A week later, he was ordained a bishop.
He gave up all of his belongings to the poor, as an example to the people of Milan and so that he could focus on his duties as bishop. He was famous as a teacher of the faith and a scholar of the Bible. His preaching drew crowds, including a young and noncommittal St. Augustine, whom Ambrose taught and later baptized.
In a letter, Ambrose wrote the following about the art of preaching:
"Let your words be rivers, clean and limpid, so that in your exhortations you may charm the ears of your people. And by the grace of your words win them over to follow your leadership. [Let] no word escape your lips in vain or be uttered without depth of meaning."
Ambrose preached often against the Arian heresy. Ambrose's learning and preaching earned him the title "Doctor of the Church," an honorific given to thirty-six other saints who are known for elucidating the faith by their words or example. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica and a stained glass window in the Basilica portrays Ambrose confronting Emperor Theodosius, who was responsible for ordering a massacre of 7,000. The emperor repented publicly for his action because of this encounter and was reconciled to the Church. Ambrose later presided over his funeral.
St. Ambrose, whose preaching drew Christians into a deeper life of faith—pray for us!