With Unity

Homily for Friday of the First Week in Ordinary TIme

The story that we hear from St. Mark’s Gospel today offers us an opportunity to find a place for ourselves in this story. Imagine that you are in Capernaum          and are one of the characters in this remarkable story. Perhaps you see yourself as one of the four who are lowering the paralytic down to Jesus. Another way to visualize this episode is to place yourself on the pallet as a paralytic. Maybe you see yourself as part of the crowd that is gathered at the door of this house. Finally, you might see yourself as one of the scribes who takes issue with Jesus’ words of forgiveness.

The four people who are lowering the paralytic down to Jesus demonstrate their faith in his power and his authority as well as their love of neighbor.

The paralytic doesn’t seem to have any active part in this story until the very end when Jesus says: “Pick up your mat and go home.” He demonstrates his faith by doing as Jesus bade him.

The crowd’s reaction is one of astonishment. Are you perhaps astonished by the fact that Jesus freely forgives the man his sins even though he does not seem to have confessed to any sinful actions?

I sincerely doubt that anyone here today has placed themselves among the scribes who take issue with Jesus in this episode. However, is it possible that you have found it difficult to accept the forgiveness of God and have hung on to your guilt as a result? If you do, why do you doubt that Jesus can forgive you while admitting that he has forgiven the paralytic’s sins?

Which of the characters in the story fits into the assertions that are made in today’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews? The sacred author maintains that those who failed to believe were not allowed to enter the Promised Land while those who were united in faith were allowed. The four who bring the paralytic are obviously united in their quest to bring their friend and neighbor to Jesus. Do you find yourself in union with them?

The church teaches that each and every time that we receive the Eucharist, our sins are forgiven. Just as the paralytic was forgiven, we too have been granted this gift of reconciliation. As you approach the altar today, declare your faith with a strong response of “Amen” as the minister proclaims that you are receiving the body of Christ. We frequently refer to this Sacrament as communion. That word means “with unity,” the kind of unity that the author of the Letter to Hebrews claims brought about the chosen people who were permitted to enter into the Promised Land.