After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
“This man is blaspheming.”
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
“Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
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 then said to the paralytic,
“Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.
I think that it is important to note here in this reading, that Jesus forgives sin before he heals. It is always this way. Throughout the gospels, Jesus always addresses the heart and soul of the afflicted, before he does anything to their bodies. He does this for a couple reasons. In Jesus’ time people believed that illness and deformity were actual punishments from God. Either because of a sin that they committed, or in some cases because of the sins of their fathers. So sick people went around thinking that they were the greatest of sinners (even if they were totally innocent). So the first reason Jesus did this was because of His wish to minister to their spiritual needs first, and to tell the crowds that this person is no longer guilty of the sin that they all believed he had done.
The second reason is that we humans are a mind-body composite. We are not minds without bodies, like the angels, and we are not bodies without a mind like the animals. We are uniquely made by god to have both a mind and a body, and you cannot heal one without healing the other. To do so would be incomplete, and would leave the person in a position that is no better than before. But it is also because our body’s are temporary and our souls are eternal. Our bodies can get sick and be healed while we are in this world, and god promises that they will be fully restored at the end of time, but our souls are eternal, and will be forever, whether we choose God or not. But if you want to find that eternal peace and live forever in heaven with God, we must have our souls healed first, because nothing unclean can enter heaven. This is why Jesus ministers to the soul first, then and only then, when the mind is free of slavery to sin, does He heal the body. And I say thank god for that. His mercy and wisdom are beyond all understanding.
But thers is one more thing of note in this gospel. the paralytic is healed because of the faith of his friends that brought him there on the stretcher. Obviously God can see souls and knows the perfect truth, but I think that there is another important message here as well, and that is that our prayers for those we love are efficatous, God listens to them and is moved to action because of them. So never stop praying for those in your life, and even those that you dont know…, because God is listening.
But at the end of the day, it is all about healing. We are a deeply sick people. Whether it is Lust, or Pride or Greed, we sin constantly, and whether we know it or not, we need to be healed. Body, yes, but mostly our souls. We need to be saved from our sins, and freed of the slavery and the bondage that our sins cause us. Jesus Christ is the answer. He can save us and free us, and heal us, if we would only turn to Him. Whether it is yourself, or your family, turn to Jesus and ask Him for His healing touch. He is waiting for you to ask.
