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Exegesis
February 19, 2006 Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) Rev. Timothy P. Schehr Isaiah 43:18-25 X 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 X Mark 2:1-12 We are inspired by stories of determination. One overcomes a terrible disease to win a sports event; another rises above every obstacle to graduate from high school or college. Determination is clearly exhibited in this Sunday’s gospel. And it definitely has the power to inspire us. Jesus has returned to Capernaum, probably to the house where he healed Peter’s mother-in-law. The place is packed; latecomers cannot even get close to the door. They have all come to hear the Lord peach. But are they listening to what he says? Do they recognize the invitation he offers them to be healed spiritually and draw closer to God? Suddenly our attention is drawn to four people carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed. What chance have they got of getting close to Jesus for a healing? But these four are determined. They open up the roof of the house and lower their friend down to Jesus! And what does Jesus say when the poor man is finally laying before him? We expect him to announce the man healed of his paralysis. Instead, Jesus says the man’s sins are forgiven. This forgiveness is apparently welcomed by the man since Mark records no words of protest. Perhaps the man recognized that his spiritual weakness was far more serious a concern that any physical malady. If so this man truly becomes a model of faith for every reader. By this forgiveness of sins Jesus was inviting everyone else in that house to seek such healing for themselves. They certainly suffered no physical paralysis but they surely needed healing from sin. Now was their chance to say so. But that’s not how it goes. Some of the people in the crowd wonder how Jesus could dare do such a thing. Forgiving sins belongs to God alone. It is an easy thing to claim to forgive sins; it is quite another to actually have the power to do so. To help these detractors move beyond their anger and seek spiritual healing, Jesus asks them which is easier, forgiving sins or healing a paralytic? Their probable answer would be, Forgiving sins. It is harder to presume the power to heal since anyone could readily confirm whether or not someone had that power by merely observing the results. So Jesus goes ahead and speaks the words they think are harder to say. He commands the paralytic to rise, take his mat in hand, and walk away. The man does all three things just as Jesus commanded. With the man out the door by his own power, what is now stopping everyone else, especially the Lord’s detractors, from requesting Jesus to forgive their sins? They do express astonishment; they do admit they have never seen such a thing before. But they do not take the next step. Sadly, the paralyzed man was the only one to leave that house healed both physically and spiritually. Imagine the prophet Isaiah seeing this miracle. Certainly he would rejoice to at last see the “something new” he speaks about in the first reading. Isaiah would understand what Jesus did; he would understand that God was in their midst ready to wipe out their offenses. In his letter to the church in Corinth Paul explains that God’s promises find their fulfillment in Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate Yes from God to us. Paul, together with his brothers and sisters in Corinth, has been gifted with the Holy Spirit. If they remain faithful to that Spirit they will enjoy other promises from God, including eternal life.
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