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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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

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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! 

In fact, the Gospel tells us that he was so effective in telling others about Jesus that Jesus 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 Jesus offered this man.

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I’m sure we’ve all acted like that leper before. 

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

How many people did you tell? How many pictures did you take or post on social media?

Whenever something good happens to us, we naturally share the news with others. Being healed by Jesus was no different.

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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?

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This is how the Good News of the Gospel spreads: one person at a time, sharing the uncontainable, life-altering joy that Jesus Christ brings.

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Image credits: (1) Bible Reasons, Joy in the Lord (2) Osprey Observer (3) Subiaco Church

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1 Samuel 3: 1-20

During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under Eli,
a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision infrequent.
One day Eli was asleep in his usual place.
His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see.
The lamp of God was not yet extinguished,
and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD
where the ark of God was.
The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.”

Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am.  You called me.”
“I did not call you,” Eli said.  “Go back to sleep.” 
So he went back to sleep.
Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli.
“Here I am,” he said. “You called me.”
But Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.”
At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD,
because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time.
Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. 
You called me.”
Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth.
So Eli said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply,
‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” 
When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
the LORD came and revealed his presence,
calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him,
not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
Thus all Israel from Dan to Beersheba
came to know that Samuel was an accredited prophet of the LORD.

The Word of the Lord.

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Imagine you’re at a show in Las Vegas. Some popular magician has just walked onto a stage set with all sorts of props – a cage, boxes, saws, wands, swords, and so on.

After prepping the crowd, raising their expectations, he declares his need for help from the audience. Suddenly, you find his finger pointing right at you.

Like everyone else around you, your neck keeps turning as you seek to identify who the “unlucky” winner is. No, it’s not your neighbor.

It’s you.

The magician has called you onto stage.

Anyone who isn’t inclined to risk, who isn’t extroverted or a daredevil, might be a bit unhappy with this magician’s choice; you didn’t buy your ticket only to become another prop on his stage!

But there you are. The audience roars. The time has come to stand up and go.

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Though there is nothing “magical” about our faith, that sensation of being chosen – and feeling like you’re the last one fit for the job – happens quite frequently in the bible.

In our first reading, for example, God chooses Samuel to be his servant. Samuel’s young and inexperienced, but he becomes one of the great prophets of the Old Testament, preparing the way for Jesus.

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Like an unexpecting spectator, Samuel could’ve said, “Why me? Why not him or her?” 

But hear his response: “Here I am, Lord…Your servant is listening.”

How might our day change if we repeated Samuel’s words, “Here I am Lord” ?

I come to do your will.

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Image credits: (1) Fine Art America, Unique Trees (2) The Conversation (3) God Encounters Ministries