Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 15, 2021
When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days,
it became known that he was at home.
Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them,
not even around the door,
and he preached the word to them.
They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
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, he said to him,
“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?”
Jesus immediately knew in his mind what
they were thinking to themselves,
so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’?
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.
They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
Today’s gospel brings up many themes for our consideration: Jesus’ power to heal, his ability to forgive sins, and the crowd’s great desire to be near him all come to mind as I read this passage (not to mention how to find a good roof repair specialist in Capernaum in the first century). But the theme that stands out to me the most is friendship.
This reading speaks to me about friendship because it tells us of four friends who carry their paralyzed companion to Jesus. They desperately hope that Jesus will be able to heal their friend and transform his life. The crowd is so dense, however, that they can’t get near him, so they lower their friend through the roof to Jesus. Now that’s dedication!
I like to think that all five of these companions are transformed by the healing of the paralytic, not just the paralytic himself. They come hoping that their friend will be physically healed but they learn, indeed the entire crowd learns, that Jesus not only heals the body but forgives sins as well. We see from the astonishment of the crowd that this is a real game changer.
We might think of a friend as someone who carries us when the hardships of life make our journey difficult to bear. The literal carrying and lowering of the paralytic by his friends in this gospel can serve as a metaphor for friendship in general. In friendship, we not only carry one another a little further down the road; we carry one another to the healing power of God.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, those who love you bear witness to this love by sharing it with others. Help us to grow in love, and strengthen us to reach out to those in need and lead them to you, so that all who are burdened in this life may experience healing in body and soul. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Paul the Hermit was forced to flee to the desert to survive, but ended up living there an amazingly long time.
Paul was born around the year 230 in Egypt to an upper-class Christian family. He was well-educated, but left an orphan at the age of 15. The persecutions of Decius began a few years later, and members of his family planned a scheme to seize control of his property by reporting him as a Christian to the authorities. He fled both his family and the authorities by going into the desert and living in a cave.
The hermitic lifestyle suited Paul well and he spent the rest of his 113 year-long life surviving off fruit and water and wearing leaves. He spent most of his time in prayer, and a legend tells of a raven bringing him bread for sustenance.
St. Anthony the Abbot, who is traditionally credited with formalizing the monastic movement, visited Paul and became friends with him. (In fact, Anthony’s feast day lands in two days.) When he died, Anthony buried Paul in a cloak that was given to him by St. Athanasius, and it is said that two lions helped dig the grave. The two friends—Paul and Anthony—are depicted in murals in the Basilica on opposite-facing walls. St. Paul’s image includes the bread-bearing raven, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Paul the Hermit, who lived nearly 100 years in the desert on little more than prayer, pray for us!