14 Jan 2011, Friday of the First Week In Ordinary Time

Reading 1
Heb 4:1-5, 11

Let us be on our guard
while the promise of entering into his rest remains,
that none of you seem to have failed.
For in fact we have received the Good News just as our ancestors did.
But the word that they heard did not profit them,
for they were not united in faith with those who listened.
For we who believed enter into that rest,
just as he has said:

As I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter into my rest,”

and yet his works were accomplished
at the foundation of the world.
For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this manner,
And God rested on the seventh day from all his works;
and again, in the previously mentioned place,
They shall not enter into my rest.

Therefore, let us strive to enter into that rest,
so that no one may fall after the same example of disobedience.

Ps 78:3 and 4bc, 6c-7, 8
Responsorial Psalm R. (see 7b)

Do not forget the works of the Lord!
What we have heard and know,
and what our fathers have declared to us,
we will declare to the generation to come
The glorious deeds of the LORD and his strength.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
That they too may rise and declare to their sons
that they should put their hope in God,
And not forget the deeds of God
but keep his commands.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
And not be like their fathers,
a generation wayward and rebellious,
A generation that kept not its heart steadfast
nor its spirit faithful toward God.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!

Gospel
Mk 2:1-12

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days,
it became known that he was at home.
Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them,
not even around the door,
and he preached the word to them.
They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd,
they opened up the roof above him.
After they had broken through,
they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him,
“Child, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves,
“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.”
He rose, picked up his mat at once,
and went away in the sight of everyone.
They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Meditation: Mark 2:1-12

No matter how strong or agile, active or independent you are, you have something in common with this paralyzed man. In fact, we all do: We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We have all preferred ourselves to the One who created us, choosing our way over God’s way and, therefore, against our own good (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 398). And so we all need to hear Jesus say, “Child, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5).

Yes, your sins are forgiven! No matter what you’ve done, why you’ve done it, or who you’ve done it to, Jesus still forgives you. The world has never seen anything like the kind of transformation that can occur in a forgiven soul. You don’t have to remain paralyzed by guilt or shame. If you feel that your hands are too weak to serve God and your knees are too feeble to follow him, they can be strengthened by the flow of his mercy and grace.

Yes, your sins are forgiven! And because of God’s mercy, the eyes of the blind can be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. The lame can leap, and the mute can sing for joy (Isaiah 35:4-6). Jesus has done it. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him, and he now says to you: “Child, your sins are forgiven!”

If you’ve never heard Jesus speak those glorious words, run to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Tear the roof off the building if you have to, lower yourself as low as necessary, and get in the presence of our Lord to hear him say, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”

Let the Holy Spirit show you what Jesus wants to heal in your life. Perhaps it’s anger and bitterness or resentments and grudges. Let him massage the hard knots of unforgiveness until they relax and your pain is eased. Fears and feelings of unworthiness because of your past sins, whether sins of omission or sins of commission, can melt away. Right now, even today, Jesus stands ready to say to you: “Child, your sins are forgiven.”

“Jesus, forgive me. Heal me. Strengthen what is weak, soften what is hard, and set my feet again on the pathway to you. Raise me up to walk with you today.”

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