God Loves, God Hopes, God Waits

Homily for Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The healing miracle that Jesus performs in today’s Gospel reading must be read carefully to be completely understood. When Jesus told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven, the evangelist tells us that the scribes “said to themselves” that only God could forgive sins. In other words, they did not utter this aloud so that they could be heard by others. Another way of expressing this would be to say that they thought this to themselves.

When Jesus obviously recognizes what they are thinking, he exposes them and asks why they were harboring evil thoughts. We must remember, at this point, that the scribes would have understood that only God could read the hearts of human beings. Their secrets were known only to God unless they expressed them aloud. So, when Jesus tells them that he knows what they are thinking, he is offering his knowledge of their thoughts as a proof of his identity, as a proof of his divinity. Consequently, he was able to say, “Your sins are forgiven.” The evangelist included these details in order to make it clear that Jesus was the one that had been promised.

The authority to heal in Christ’s name has been passed down to priests and bishops from the apostles. The Sacrament of Penance brings us back into communion with God, but also with the entire body of Christ. Our sins are forgiven and the wounds of our relationships are healed. In the anointing of the sick, the priest prays for both physical and spiritual healing. Through this sacrament, the sick person’s suffering is united with the suffering of Christ.

Both sin and sickness can isolate us from God and our communities. In the sacraments, Jesus has given his ministers the authority to forgive and heal so that we might live in fullness within the body of Christ.

St. Maria Goretti, whom we remember today, has been quoted as saying: “He loves, He hopes, He waits. Our Lord prefers to wait for the sinner for years while forgiving us in an instant.