“Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming.
Who but God alone can forgive sins?”
Jesus immediately knew in his mind what
they were thinking to themselves,
so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’?
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”
–he said to the paralytic,
“I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”
- Mark 2:6-11
This passage from Mark’s gospel presents the story of Jesus’ curing the paralytic man. In this story, Jesus has returned to Capernaum and is besieged by a crowd of people. Some of friends of a paralyzed man want him to be able to see Jesus so that he can be cured of his paralysis, but they are unable to get near Jesus because of the crowds. Rather than give up, they decided to lower the man through a hole in the roof of the house. Upon seeing this, Jesus is moved by the men’s faith and, as a result, forgives their sins. This is where the above passage fits into the story. A group of scribes, thinking they know all there is to know about religion, begin to condemn Jesus as a blasphemer. This prompts Jesus to prove to them that He has the authority to forgive sins by also healing the man’s paralysis. It is only after he performs this miracle that their eyes are opened and they began praising God for working through Jesus.
We think today of Jesus, who always wants us all to be closer to Him, we think of the Holy People of God, a simple people, who want to get closer to Jesus and we think of so many Christians of goodwill who are wrong and that instead of opening a door they close the door of goodwill … So we ask the Lord that all those who come to the Church find the doors open, find the doors open, open to meet this love of Jesus.’