REFLECTION Sunday´s Gospel

Fr. James McTavish, FMVD

“My child, your sins are forgiven. 

Pick up your mat and walk” 

There is a famous line from a song by the Beatles – “I get by with a little help from my friends”. The paralysed man in the gospel of today was perhaps singing that song as his four friends carried him on a stretcher to Jesus. When the men arrived where Jesus was they were confronted by a large crowd. Undeterred they climbed onto the roof of the house where Jesus was and began to remove the roof tiles. Ten out of ten for creativity and initiative! They lowered the paralytic down through the hole in the roof and Jesus, seeing their faith, said “My child, your sins are forgiven”. Only Jesus, true God and true man could say that. The scribes watching this scene began to criticize Jesus. They questioned his authority to forgive sins. Let us ponder this connection that we have today between sin and sickness. Is it just some strange folklorish, superstition from the past? How can we understand a paralysis due to sin today?

Obviously the paralysis from sin is something that arises from within. We know from many popular expressions such as ‘he was paralysed by fear’ or ‘I felt paralysed’ that here we are talking about a kind of inner paralysis. Before making a link between sin and paralysis let us consider what may be the nature of sin. Surely it is something undesirable. This is despite much modern advertising which foolishly flirts with the enemy. Flaunting ice cream called ‘Temptation’ or selling cars with the slogan ‘Bring out the devil in you’. This can tend to weaken the sense of sin. One golden rule in combat is never to underestimate the strength of the opponent! And combat it is because the devil is out to put us down. Of course his first line of attack is that we don’t take him too seriously and even better for him if the whole idea of sin is made laughable and not taken seriously. 

This reality that sin is something that causes disorder in us is expressed well in the original greek text of the today’s gospel. The word used for sin in the greek text is hamartia. Interestingly enough modern surgery also utilizes this term to describe an unusual type of cancer in the body. Normally a cancer derives from one type of cell such as bone or skin but there is one type which is a mixture of different cell types. One can find in the cancer muscle cells, hairs and even fully formed teeth! It is a chaotic mixture, disordered and not a pretty sight. The name for this type of cancer? A hamartoma. So both hamartia and hamartomas cause disorder and chaos inside the body. And both need a good Doctor!

An example of sin causing disorder and chaos in us is when we remember the supposed wrong done to us. St Francis of Paola put it very well: “Pardon one another so that later on you will not remember the injury. The recollection of an injury is itself wrong. It adds to our anger, nurtures our sin and hates what is good. It is a rusty arrow and poison for the soul. It puts all virtues to flight. Like a worm in the mind it confuses our speech and tears to shreds our petitions to God ”. This is in contrast to the harmony and peace brought by love, which forgives and “does not keep a record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13,6). How does sin paralyse us and make us immobile? Well certainly pride paralyses our lips because it becomes impossible for us to say we are sorry or admit our mistakes! Sin makes us feel very burdened and heavy, unable to move or respond. It is as if we are carrying excess baggage! Only Christ, the good Doctor can cut out the hamartoma of sin. He is the heart specialist and that is why we turn our gaze to him. That is why the friends brought the paralysed man to him. We are about to start the period of Lent which is a good time to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. Often after confession the person feels lighter. Of course! They have got rid of their excess baggage. If we want to reach Jerusalem with Jesus this Easter we must travel light. Always you have to pay severely for excess baggage but Christ has paid for our sins in the currency of his flesh and blood. He carries our sins to his cross. So let us get rid of all that hinders us especially the sin that clings to us (Cf. Hebrews 12, 1-2). I remember in London the Tshirt I saw promoting the city. It said “Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go to London.” But I would add “And really smart girls go to confession”. 

Confession is a time to regain mobility of spirit. Sometimes we get bogged down, blaming others and only seeing ourselves as sinless victims. We easily see the ugliness in others and tend to exaggerate our own spiritual beauty. “Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the most beautiful of them all?” Lent is a time of grace and conversion, a time to become the protagonists of our own lives. To be mature and accept responsibility when and where it is necessary. As St Dorotheus notes “The reason for all disturbance is that no one blames himself. This is the reason for every taking of offence and upset. This is why at times it is impossible to find peace of soul. Whenever some sort of inconvenience or penalty or dishonor or trouble of any kind happens to the one who is ready to find fault with himself, he bears it with a smile, considers that he deserves it, and so is not in the least put out by it. Who could be more peaceful than such a person?” Smiling and peaceful – now that is gorgeous!

When the heart is beautiful the face will shine. Even Shakespeare spotted that connection. Why spent so much time and money on having a beautiful face with soft skin when the heart remains hardened and ugly? Much better to ask Jesus the Good Doctor to make our hearts beautiful. Here is where the real beauty lies. Once our hearts are renewed our faces will be truly radiant! The miracle makeover is repeated in the sacrament of reconciliation when the penitent receives a new heart. In some way, they are listening to the very same words Jesus gave the paralytic “My child, your sins are forgiven. I order you; get up, pick up your mat and walk!” Many are the causes of paralysis in our world of today such as paralysis from over-work, or even from alcohol abuse. 

Like the man in the gospel we are helped by the faith of others as we remind ourselves in every Eucharist – “Look not on our sins but on the faith of your Church”. And from this loving encounter with Jesus we receive the strength once again to go, to get up and begin again on our journey. Let us help one another and together we can arrive at Jerusalem this Easter with Jesus. Let us not remain paralysed but to present ourselves to Jesus, our good Doctor and personal physician. And let us neither tire either of trying to bring others who are paralysed to him too. Amen.