Category: Uncategorized

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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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When celebrating the anointing of the sick, I often read today’s Gospel.

There’s a man who’s paralyzed, laying at the feet of Jesus. Everyone surrounding him is waiting to see what the Lord will do. Can he heal this man’s paralysis?

But Jesus simply looks at him and says, “Your sins are forgiven.”

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On the surface, it seems like an incredible let down. Four of this man’s friends have just dragged him on a stretcher, pulled him on top of their neighbor’s roof, ripped it open, and lowered him to the feet of Jesus.

After all that effort, all he gets from Jesus is forgiveness? What’s the point?

In the mind of God, the forgiveness of sins is more important than the physical state of our bodies, which is why Jesus offers this man forgiveness before he grants him physical healing. 

While the body lasts for a number of years, the soul endures for eternity.

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Like the paralytic, I’m sure many of us have approached Jesus asking for some type of physical healing before – and, sometimes that healing has been granted.

In my own priestly ministry, I’ve seen several people healed from cancer, blindness removed, brain damage reversed, pneumonia disappear.

While the Lord can do all of these things, today Jesus reminds us what matters most: not the state of our bodies, but the state of our souls. That’s what endures forever.

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Am I in need of forgiveness? Or any form of spiritual renewal?

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Approach the Lord in faith as the paralytic’s friends did and you, too, will hear what matters most:

Your sins are forgiven… share your Master’s joy.

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Image credits: (1) Bob Young, Medium (2) Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man, Aaron Spong (3) Aaron Terrazas

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Gospel: Mark 1:40-45

A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him, 
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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This man healed from leprosy was quite the salesman! 

The Gospel tells us that he was so effective in telling others about Jesus that the Lord couldn’t even reach the edge of town without being bombarded by the sick, the paralyzed, and the possessed.

Everyone wanted the healing and the joy this man received.

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I’m sure we’ve all acted like him before. 

Think about how you reacted the day you got engaged; the day you had your first child or grandchild; the day you got into your dream school or landed the perfect job.

When good things happen to us, we simply have to share it; it’s part of being human. Even as I was writing this sermon, a friend texted me saying, “Father, today I’m being sworn in as an attorney. Here’s the YouTube link if you have time to watch!”

Being healed by Jesus was no different.

Although the Lord commanded the leper not to tell anyone, his life was forever changed; he couldn’t hold it in. Something miraculous happened to him and everyone had to know. 

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Have we had that same type of experience with faith? Has Jesus changed us so radically that we can’t help but tell others?

It could’ve been a moment of conversion when you felt God presence; when the Lord answered a long-awaited prayer; when he healed an illness; or just the consistent deepening of your faith that brings daily peace.

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This is how the Good News of the Gospel first spread – and continues to spread this day. One person is changed by Jesus, then that uncontainable, life-altering joy is shared with others. 

Over time, entire families, communities, even the world is changed.

So, how might you share the joyful nature of your faith today?

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Image credits: (1) ChurchLeaders (2) Our Lady of the Lake RC Church, Lake Havasu, AZ (3) Cool Springs Baptist Church

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Gospel: Mark 1:29-39

On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, 
he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come.”
So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons 
throughout the whole of Galilee.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today’s Gospel describes a full day in the life of Jesus.

We begin mid-morning. Jesus leaves the synagogue, having just cast out an unclean spirit – his first public miracle in Mark’s Gospel. 

“After lunch,” he enters Simon Peter’s home, where he heals Simon’s mother-in-law who is deathly ill. Word then spreads fast enough for crowds to start gathering around him, as the Lord continues his healing work well after sunset.

I’d imagine by the end of the night, he was exhausted.

But the Gospel tells us that he rose, “very early before dawn,” where he went off on his own to a deserted place to pray. I’d imagine Jesus began each day that way … up early in prayer.

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Prayer is what sustains our spiritual life, too.

And the Lord reminds us the best time to do it is “very early before dawn,” before the stress, the demands, and the weight of other commitments compete for our time. It’s like having a spiritual “cup of coffee.”

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How much time do I spend in prayer each day? Have I tried praying like the Lord, “very early before dawn?”

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If not, try it and see what happens over time. 

You’ll discover, as the Lord teaches us, that prayer is our deepest source of strength. A minute with God provides more strength than a day or even a year without him.

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Image credits: (1) Jericho Ridge Community Church (2) Healing Peter’s Mother-in-Law, John Bridges (3) Pinterest