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Gospel: Luke 5:17-26
One day as Jesus was teaching,
Pharisees and teachers of the law,
who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,
were sitting there,
and the power of the Lord was with him for healing.
And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;
they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence.
But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof
and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles
into the middle in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said,
“As for you, your sins are forgiven.”
Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves,
“Who is this who speaks blasphemies?
Who but God alone can forgive sins?”
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply,
“What are you thinking in your hearts?
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 said to the one who was paralyzed,
“I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He stood up immediately before them,
picked up what he had been lying on,
and went home, glorifying God.
Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God,
and, struck with awe, they said,
“We have seen incredible things today.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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There’s an African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
In today’s Gospel, a group of friends go far together. Physically, they may only have traveled a few hundred feet. But spiritually, they do whatever it takes to lay their friend before Jesus. Together, they move the mountain of this man’s paralysis, forever changing his life.
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During this holiday season, we’re all reminded of the power of teamwork and intercession. Together, we can move mountains of poverty, loneliness, sickness, isolation, and ignorance, transforming people’s burdens into blessings.
Think of a person in need – much like this man paralyzed in today’s Gospel – and imagine ways you can bring them before Jesus, beginning with interceding on their behalf.
You’ll certainly brighten their day. And who knows, you may even move a mountain, forever changing their life.
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“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
May we continue our Advent journeys together.
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Image credits: (1) LinkedIn (2) Lumo on X (Twitter) (3) LinkedIn