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Home Sections The Daily B.R.E.A.D. Jan 15, 2010 - Friday Meditation (Do you need Forgiveness and Healing? Come to JESUS!)
Jan 15, 2010 - Friday Meditation (Do you need Forgiveness and Healing? Come to JESUS!) PDF Print E-mail
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Sections - The Daily B.R.E.A.D.
Written by Bobot Apit   
Saturday, 09 January 2010 21:36

 

O nly God can forgive sins. Well, only God can heal people, too, right? Jesus heals the man. If Jesus has authority from God to heal, then he has authority from God to forgive sins. So, yes, only God can forgive sins and heal people and Jesus has the audacity to do both.

 

 

Friday in the First Week of Ordinary Time

 

1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22a

 

Psalm 89:16-17, 18-19

 

M ark 2:1-12 And when he returned to Caper'na-um after some days, it was reported that he was at home. (2) And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them. (3) And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. (4) And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. (5) And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." (6) Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, (7) "Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (8) And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question thus in your hearts? (9) Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, `Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, `Rise, take up your pallet and walk'? (10) But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" -- he said to the paralytic -- (11) "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home." (12) And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

 

 

 

Meditation by George Butterfield (Creighton)

 

T he apostle Paul once said that the Old Testament writings function as a warning for us. They warn us of many things but one in particular is the danger of wanting to be like the world around us. We are called to be a unique people, a people set apart for God, a kingdom that listens to and follows the will of the great King. This imagery can be jolting to those who have known nothing but democratic forms of government. What does it mean to be subject to a King, even if that King is Jesus of Nazareth?

 

The reading from First Samuel is humorous if not sad. For many generations the “nation” of Israel has been a loose confederation of people who had a common history and religion but no central government. In theory they were committed to helping one another if a tribe was attacked by its enemies but in practice they were individually too weak to do anything but barely keep themselves alive, let alone help each other. The Book of Judges shows the extent to which the tribes suffered because of their lack of unity in worshiping God and coming to the defense of each other. Their solution? The nations around us are defeating us because they have a king and we don’t. Samuel explains to them that they already have a king and that they simply need to be faithful to their king. To them, God is simply not a good enough king.
 
In one of the most humorous passages in the Bible, Samuel sets forth the cost to them of having an earthly king. He will conscript your sons and daughters, take away your servants, fields, vineyards, fruit trees, tax you on whatever crops you have left, take your best animals and tax you on the ones you have left, until you become his slaves and cry out against him. The response of the elders of Israel ? Bring it on. We have to have a king. We have to be like the nations around us. God’s response? “Give them what they want.” Certainly walking by faith and trusting in the great King is not easy. But what is the alternative? Slavery. To be like the nations around us is to become slaves. Sadly, I often cannot see the end result of my choices. In my rush to fit in with the world I give up my freedom.

 

For the psalmist, a blessed people are those who know the Lord as King. They know his goodness, walk in his light, rejoice in his name, and experience his justice. Their strength is found in God who pours out his grace upon them. The Holy One of Israel is the shield, the King, of the nation.

 

The gospel lesson is the story of the paralytic who is let down through the roof into the presence of Jesus. Jesus is preaching the word and the paralytic wants to be healed. Upon seeing their faith, Jesus forgives the man’s sins. The response of the religious leaders? He is blaspheming. Only God can forgive sins. Well, only God can heal people, too, right? Jesus heals the man. If Jesus has authority from God to heal, then he has authority from God to forgive sins. So, yes, only God can forgive sins and heal people and Jesus has the audacity to do both.

 

A Christian is one who gives up the bobbles of the nations for the treasures of the great King. In the words of St. Clare, “What a laudable exchange!”

 

 

 

Supplementary Reading

 

EMPOWERING LOVE

 

 

 

We love because He first loved us. –1 John 4:19

 

 

 

A young pastor replaced the beloved founder of a Christian community. While everyone encouraged him, there were three influential ladies who did not. In fact, they gave this young leader a hard time in carrying out his ministry.

 

This bothered him but the Lord gave him a dream that night. He went to heaven and was shown a sculpture of his life. It was fantastic and beautiful to say the least. It had a lot of color and detail. It was a sight to behold! The artwork was still in the process of completion and was being engraved in the ground. The young man cried out, “Wow, Lord, is this your work in my life?” The Lord nodded and said, “You owe it to the diggers through whom I am engraving this work of art. Would you like to meet them?”

 

The man turned around and saw the three church ladies.

 

God loves us. This love empowers us to love even the unlovable. He sends us people not just for us to love but so He could create something wonderful and bigger in our lives through His love. ---Ariel Driz (adriz77@yahoo.com)
 
REFLECTION:

 

Who are the difficult people in my life that the Lord is calling me to love today?

 

Lord Jesus, let Your love continue to empower me! Amen.
 
 
For meditation/readings of the previous days/months , please click any of the following links:
http://his-ways-better-than-our-ways.blogspot.com/
http://www.mabuhayradio.com/sections/the-daily-bread.html
http://butuanglobalforum.org/cgi-bin/dboard/YaBB.pl?num=1229339492/220


 
Daily Mass and Gospel Meditation Broadcast (Tagalog) thru DWXI (5am Phil Time), pls click this link:  http://www.eradioportal.com/index.php?p=2&aid=1&sid=62#STS=g1jais7y.zk6

GOD BLESS US ALL!
O Theos Na Mas Evlogisi!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU.

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