THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS CHRIST
(6th Sunday of St. Matthew)
His friends brought the paralyzed man to Jesus. They begged Jesus to heal him from his great suffering. Jesus commented their love for the paralyzed man and their faith in God and healed first the cause of his paralysis: Sin. This was the root cause of his paralysis. And afterwards, Jesus healed his body.
The Pharisees, who were present, harbored evil thoughts against Christ. They thought that Jesus blasphemed because only God can forgive sins.
Christ, as all-knowing God, read the Pharisees’ thoughts and uncovered their crafty, sinister hypocrisy. “Why to you think craftily inside of you?” Jesus told them; You will see my power, and then you’ll be convinced.”
Jesus proceeded and healed the paralyzed man instantly and told him to carry his empty bed. Thus Christ revealed his authority with the miracle. The people present glorified God for Christ’s miracle; but not the Pharisees. They hated Jesus’ Godly miracles.
When man’s deeds are crafty and evil he does not want God’s light to reveal them. The Pharisees appeared in life as virtuous, but their sinful way of life spoke otherwise. For they exploited the widow, the orphan and the poor. They violated God’s Law that protected them. Hypocritically, they prayed pompously in the public places to impress the common people.
But the righteous God hates the despicable hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy, wearing a mask to be someone else than you are, belongs to the theatre, not in God’s worship. God demands from man a clean and pure heart. Every Christian should adorn himself with this.
To return to Gospel narrative, Christ forgave first the paralytic’s sins in order for his soul to be cleansed from them. Then He healed his body from paralysis. Now both, body and soul, would enjoy His healing.
We can also be cleansed from our sins through true repentance and confession; and we will receive God’s forgiveness.
Many times our body and soul suffer also ailments because of our sins. With our repentance and confession, we will recover both our spiritual sanity and the health of our body.
With love, Fr. John P. Angelis