7th Sunday of the Year, Year B

"I command you: Stand up! Pick up your mat and go home."


Lectionary Readings for the 7th Sunday of the Year, Year B

In this Sunday's gospel, we have the story of a paralyzed man who could not
go to Jesus because the crowds prevented him. But, this did not deter him
and those who wished to help him. The four men who wished to help him,
carried him up to the roof of the house were Jesus was, opened up
the roof, and then slowly let down the mat on which the paralytic
was, over the spot where Jesus taught the people. This action of faith
impressed Jesus so much that Jesus said, "My son, your sins are forgiven."

Bible scholars tell us that in those times, the Jewish religious
mentality saw sickness as a punishment for sin. And it is in this
context of religious thought that Jesus said, "your sins are forgiven."
Although this statement angered the scribes who thought of this as
blasphemous, Jesus nevertheless stood his ground and made the
paralyzed man well.

In our present times, whenever we get sick or whenever anyone in our
family gets sick, our first response to the problem is to bring ourselves
or the member of the family to the doctor. This is a prudent action in
our present scientific mentality, because the body itself gets sick
and weak. However, we forget that before the body gets weak and sick,
most often, our spirits get weak and our soul is weighed down with
sin. Although this is not always the case, it is a reality for some
that when they are too much "in the world" and "in the rat race",
the involvement weakens their faith in God. A weakening in faith in
God makes us rely more on our own strengths - thus exhausting us
and sapping us of the vitality that really has its source in the
God of all life. And it is God who is really the ultimate
solution to all of our problems and all of the ills we experience in
our world.

Whenever we have the time for silence and reflection, let us heed
the call to prayer and repentance. Let us not wait until the moment
that we experience some form of "paralysis" in our lives. Let us
rather approach the Lord and seek His forgiveness and ask for good
health, in body and in soul. If we, however, are now in some state
of "paralysis", let us learn from the example of the gospel and follow the
paralytic, who did not lose faith despite the obstacle of the crowds
preventing him to approach Jesus. Let us pray for the gift of faith
to strengthen us so that we can approach the Lord in the sacraments
and be granted the grace of healing we need in our life.

6th Sunday of the Year, Year B

"I do will it, Be cured"

Lectionary Readings for the 6th Sunday of the Year, Year B

In this Sunday's gospel, we find a leper approaching Jesus and pleading to Jesus that he be cured of his disease. We know that in those days, leprosy makes one an outcast of the Jewish society and people consider lepers unclean. This ostracism is heightened all the more by the fact that leprosy is considered a punishment also for one's sins. Thus, anybody who has the disease is two times denied of his freedom: the freedom to be part of the everyday life of the people and the freedom to be favored in the eyes of God.

Today, even though leprosy is curable and does not really mean what it meant before in the time of Jesus, we still encounter life experiences that make us unfree to be part of the life of the people, and also unfree to be seen as favored in God's eyes. But even though we or other people may experience this, there is a way to regain our freedom. As the leper in the gospel approached Jesus, he said, "If you will to do so, you can cure me." And Jesus stretched out his hand, touched the leper and said: "I do will it, be cured." We need only to approach Jesus and he will really will that we be cured, and that we regain our freedom again as part of a family of communities who are favored in the Lord's eyes.

The priest in the Mass this morning tells us that we can be cured of whatever kind of leprosy in our life through the sacrament of reconciliation. It is a sacrament that restores us to the Church, where a family of communities are bonded together in Christ; it is also a sacrament that makes us feel again the Lord's favor as we experience God's love through being made whole from our sinfulness. And not only can we experience our freedom again through this sacrament of reconciliation, but even the Sunday Mass that we are called to celebrate, is an opportunity for us to be made whole again with our brothers and sisters in the faith.

Let us therefore not be afraid to approach the sacraments. This gospel shows us that Jesus indeed wills that we be made whole again; that we experience the freedom that is originally intended to us as a gift for being made in the image and likeness of God, and thus fulfill our role to make the good news known to all: Jesus wills that we be saved, regain our freedom, and be made whole again.

5th Sunday of the Year, Year B

"...He went into their synagogues preaching the good news and expelling demons throughout the whole of Galilee."

Lectionary Readings for 5th Sunday of the Year, Year B

In this gospel, we find Jesus performing his ministry of healing, teaching and preaching. His ministry was to preach the good news that God offers salvation in the form of health and knowledge of God through Jesus Himself. Many people benefitted from the cures of Jesus. One of them was Peter's mother-in-law, who upon being healed, waited at once on Jesus and his group of apostles.

This ministry of Jesus spread throughout the land and he was known by this work. Those who were ill and were cured, and those who were possessed by demons and were made whole, were signs itself of the wonders that God has done through his Son. This caused quite a stir and many sought him out. But Jesus would always go to a lonely place to pray. We can see that this pattern of ministry and prayer by Jesus is a pattern always reflected in the gospels. Although Jesus was very much immersed in going to the people and preaching, teaching and healing them, he also was aware of the need for prayer.

Today, we often see our salvation in terms of more money, a better working condition, a new house, or a new car, or a new type of ministry or apostolate, or even a new community and new companions at work. However, we neglect to see that in those times of Jesus when life was simple, people really sought salvation in terms of what is essential in life: life itself and not material things. Since life did not involve much of the complexity we now experience, they saw their salvation in terms of what Jesus really did for their life: He cured them, He gave them hope, He made them believe of a future, He expelled spirits which debilitated and tormented them, He gave a new vision and a brighter outlook, He saved their souls.

When we look at our lives and finally come to that point when we are at our sick bed or death bed, we will realize that it is not material things that will save us. It is not the doctor, nor the life-sustaining apparatus that will be attached to us. And if we experience this also with the people we love: family and friends - we will realize the same thing. Eventually, all of life hinges in our being saved by God in Jesus. Science and medicine can help, but the ultimate salvific factor is our faith in God.