The Key to Healthy Living.

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Gospel: Mark 2: 1-12

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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Americans, it seems, are obsessed with living longer and looking younger. Any doctor will tell you the key to it is diet and exercise.

How many of us, for example, have seen commercials for Peloton? Or Cindy Crawford selling her newest skin care line? 

Then there’s the diet craze: the Atkins, the keto, gluten-free, Weight Watchers, the South Beach, and the age-old spiritual practice of fasting.

Taking care of our bodies is important, but should it be priority number one?

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In the Gospel, Jesus urges us to work for more than a healthy body.

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While he’s preaching inside someone’s home, four friends tear open their neighbor’s roof in order to lower a paralyzed man down to his feet.

So, Jesus looks at him and says, “Your sins are forgiven.” But everybody around him is thinking, “So what? This man is paralyzed!” 

In the mind of Jesus, however, the forgiveness of this man’s sins is more important than the state of his body.

But in order to teach the crowds that he has the power to forgive sins, Jesus tells him to stand up and go home. 

Then off he goes.

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If the state of our soul matters more to Jesus than the state of our physical bodies, then how much time do we spend developing our spiritual lives? 

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Americans, it seems, are obsessed with living longer. Doctors recommend diet and exercise. But if you want to live forever, then pay attention to the state of your soul.

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Image credits: (1) Robert Gachon, Pinterest (2) SamSword, WordPress (3) Got Prayer?, pixy.org