And after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town. And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” Then some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”
But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” —he then said to the paralytic—’stand up, take your bed and go to your home.” And he stood up and went to his home.
When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Jesus sees the paralyzed man carried by faithful friends. The home-town crowd waits for a miracle. But what Jesus says to the man is a surprise: “your sins are forgiven.” Nobody expected that. The silent one here is the paralyzed man. What does he think? Jesus, unlike the friends or the crowd, can see what the man needs most. Imagine the man lying there after hearing Jesus, his feeling of release, the joy flowing through him – at peace with God, his neighbors, even himself. He only vaguely hears other talk around him until Jesus tells him to stand and go home, so he does. It is the lesser miracle. Like the man’s friends and the crowd, we often desire the dramatic external cure, when interior, spiritual healing may be our greatest need. Today, let’s not ignore our inner healing. —Allain Andry is the Charlotte regional coordinator for Contemplative Leaders in Action, an Ignatian spirituality and leadership program for young adults that is a program of the Office of Ignatian Spirituality. He is also a spiritual director at St. Peter Catholic Church in Charlotte, NC, the Jesuit parish in the Diocese of Charlotte. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, —Traditional prayerInner Healing
Prayer
Have mercy on me, a sinner.
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Ignatian spirituality reminds us that God pursues us in the routines of our home and work life, and in the hopes and fears of life's challenges. The founder of the Jesuits, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, created the Spiritual Exercises to deepen our relationship with Christ and to move our contemplation into service. May this prayer site anchor your day and strengthen your resolve to remember what truly matters.
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