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Reflection on Lectionary Readings for the Week

February 19, 2012 – Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25; Ps 41:2-3, 4-5, 13-14; 2 Cor 1:18-22; Mk 2:1-12

God forgives sins, and today’s readings highlight this glorious truth.

In the Old Testament reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah, we hear the Lord say, “See, I am doing something new. … You burdened me with your sins, and wearied me with your crimes. It is I, I who wipe out, for my sake, your offenses; your sins, I remember no more.”

Then, in the Gospel from St. Mark, we hear Jesus forgive the sins of the paralytic, healing him spiritually before He heals him physically. The paralytic’s friends brought him to Jesus, knowing that Christ is the all-powerful healer, and, St. Mark tells us, “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”

It is a fitting theme as we draw near to the season of Lent, preparing to celebrate the greatest miracle of all – Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. Truly, though, it is a fitting theme throughout the year as we strive to follow Christ. He came to Earth in order to forgive sins, to take our sins upon Himself and suffer their consequences, offering us, in return, everlasting life.

What a merciful God we serve.

He is here for us. He wants us to come to Him and lay ourselves at His feet, just like the paralyzed man, humbly recognizing our sinfulness and our need for His love and mercy. He pours out His mercy upon us and gives us new life.

The paralytic in today’s Gospel is a wonderful example for the rest of us. He shows us the mighty power of God, the loving mercy of God, and the new life that we receive through the Lord, if we are open to His grace. He humbly lies before the Lord, recognizing Jesus’ healing power, and he makes himself available to The Lord’s work in Him.

But he doesn’t do it alone. The paralytic needed the help of his friends.

God is here for us today. He pours His grace upon us unceasingly, particularly through the sacraments. He offers us forgiveness of sins in a special way through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And when we yield to the grace of the Sacraments, we are given a new life in Christ. We are given strength to live a faith-filled life on Earth.

Yet, much like the paralytic, we do not live this life alone. We live in community, and we rely on our friends and family for support. What’s more, we too, are called to be support to others, to bring others to Christ, to show others Christ by the way we live.

That’s what it means to live as a disciple, as a Christian steward – to yield to the grace of God and, strengthened by grace to live a life of faith drawing ever nearer to Christ and helping others to do the same. It is an extraordinary calling. It is an exciting calling, and, as the paralytic in today’s gospel shows us, when we do so, we receive new life in Christ, a life that is richly rewarding, spiritually and otherwise.

February 12, 2012 — Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lv 13:1-2, 44-46; Responsorial Psalm Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11; 1 Cor 10:31-11:1; Mk 1:40-45

In today’s second reading, Paul exhorts the Corinthians: “do everything for the glory of God,” an exhortation that applies as directly to us today as it did to his original audience.

The Corinthians were largely Gentile Christians, having converted to Christianity without Jewish roots. Meanwhile, many of the early Christians were Jewish converts, so they were of the belief that all Christians ought to follow Jewish laws and customs, namely not eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Yet, the Corinthians understood that the idols to which the meat was offered did not exist, so to them, consuming the meat was not a grave wrong. At the same time, however, they recognized that their pagan neighbors, believing the idols to exist, took a certain delight in the Christians consuming such meat.

Recognizing the conundrum in which the Corinthians found themselves, Paul encouraged them, reminding them that the most important thing was that they glorify God in all they do, being careful, at the same time, not to offend those around them, “just as I try to please everyone in every way, that they may be saved,” he wrote.

We live in a very different world today, and our understanding of Church law has evolved greatly over the years, yet the goal of our lives is one and the same. We are striving to be Christian disciples, to give ourselves to Christ in service and to follow His example. And we face many opposing forces as well. Indeed, everywhere we turned we are face-to-face with people encouraging us to turn away, encouraging us to submit to the relativistic culture that is so prevalent in our society, to choose whatever is easy or enjoyable for me in the moment.

Our calling as stewards requires us to look beyond the here and now, to look beyond what feels good at the time and focus on the cross, seeing in it the selfless sacrificial love that defined Christ’s life here on Earth and, in all things to give God the glory.

He deserves it.

He is the all-powerful Lord we serve. He has given us every good gift. He has gifted us beyond our wildest dreams, like the lepers in the first reading and the Gospel today, God has blessed us beyond belief and we ought to shout His praise from the rooftop.

In today’s gospel, Mark tells of a leper whom Jesus heals, and, though Jesus asked Him not to say anything, the man couldn’t help himself. He went all about the town praising Jesus for His good works, giving Him the credit for the miracle.

Likewise, we ought to proclaim the good news of what God has done. We ought to use all that God has given us — our time, our talents and our treasure to praise and glorify Him, letting all who see or hear us know that He is the one worthy of praise. He is the great gift giver.

All praise and glory to God!

February 5, 2012 — Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jb 7:1-4, 6-7; Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Mk 1:29-39

Today’s gospel begins with Mark’s whole gospel account, and we see Christ performing miracles, beginning with the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law. Later, the gospel tells us, “He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and He drove out many demons.”

Clearly, the people were amazed at what Jesus had done. So, when He withdrew to a place to pray, Simon, Andrew, and others came looking for Him. But the Lord told them He had to go. He had to preach and heal throughout all of Galilee. “For this purpose I have come,” He says.

Jesus has come to heal the whole world, but it is not to heal mere diseases. Rather, these stories of His powerful healing miracles serve as a foreshadowing of the greatest healing miracle of all time, His passion death and resurrection. Through this great paschal mystery, the Lord offers all of us healing from sin and life everlasting.

His earthly mission was to offer healing and life to all men, even those like Job, who suffered so terribly. Christ answers Job’s plea for relief. Without the Lord, the world waits in misery and hopelessness, simply counting their days of dread. But in Christ we see redemption from such things. Because of Him, we have hope in a painless, glorified future, even though the pain will not completely be banished this side of heaven. We can look to the cross and see a God who understands our pain, a God who suffers with us and a God who so unconditionally loves us that He offers us freedom from the pains of this life if we simply flock to Him.

He is, indeed, the great healer.

In a particular way, we gain grace that helps us through our struggles in the sacraments. There, in all seven of them, Christ pours out His life for us, giving us strength in this journey of life. And we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the life He offers us will bring us joy and fulfillment in the heavenly kingdom.

It a wonderful reality, a message of healing and hope, and Christ knew that everyone needed to hear it; not just Simon’s mother-in-law and those around her. So, after spending a bit of time with them, He took off to preach the good news to others.

Today, our job is to go about throughout the world spreading the message that Christ has come to heal and save all people. That is the Church’s mission – to proclaim the good news and call all men to Christ.

Later in Mark’s gospel, Jesus tells His disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.”

Each one of us is vital to this mission. Each one of us is a crucial part of the Church, armed with particular gifts with which we can proclaim the good news. So, it is up to us to take ownership of this call, to see our part in the Church’s life and mission as not just happen stance, but purposeful and important and to use the gifts we have been given to proclaim the Gospel and to glorify the Lord.

As Christ’s disciples, we follow His example, living lives of selflessness for others, being there for others whenever we are needed, and using the many gifts God has given us for the good of others. Oftentimes, when we live this way, our lives become a witness. People are drawn to such a way of living and they can see Christ through our actions. We do not necessarily need to stand on the mountaintop and preach. Some of us may have been given the gift to preach in that way, while others of us are called to a more subdued form of preaching.

The important thing is that we recognize our many gifts, even our very lives, as gifts from God and we use them to serve Him, proclaiming the gospel and calling others to conversion, remembering all-the-while, that, as Paul tells us, “If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me.”

We have been given so many great gifts from the Lord above, one of which is the gift of faith. Let us do our part to share that faith with the world, starting with those around us.