Mark 2:1-12 NRSVue
1When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door, and he was speaking the word to them. 3Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” 6Now some of the scribes were sitting there questioning in their hearts, 7“Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves, and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? 9Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’? 10But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—11“I say to you, stand up, take your mat, and go to your home.” 12And he stood up and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
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Reflection on Mark 2:1-12
Inspiration from 2025-01-17 Daily Prayer
The good friends of the paralytic showed how determined they were to bring him into contact with Jesus. Each of us can be instruments of God to bring others to Jesus in spite of the many apparent obstacles.
In our Christian lives the action of Jesus in first forgiving the paralytic his sins and then healing his body reminds us of what our priorities should be. Lord, you are a God of mercy. You know where we are most in need of healing.
Further reflection
You looked up, Lord, and saw a stretcher being lowered through the roof. Four men had carried the cripple up the outside staircase, removed the thatching, mud and some wooden beams that formed the roof, and lowered their friend carefully in front of you. What did those four feel when you told him – affectionately, calling him /Child/ – that his sins were forgiven? This was too easy to say. Was it for this, they wondered, that they had taken such pains?
Did you read some hidden anguish in him that hurt more than the paralysis? You restored his peace of soul. Then, with perhaps a smile at the scribes, you bade him pick up his stretcher and walk. Cheers from the rooftop. Lord, I sometimes don’t notice the paralysis within me. Teach me to walk tall.
At this point, early on in his ministry, Jesus makes a huge and important claim for himself - that he is God. In claiming that he can forgive sins, he is putting himself equal with God. His action of healing lets them know he is the Son of Man. This statement would haunt him for the next few years as the religious leaders made their plans to have him killed for making himself equal with God. In our prayer with Jesus we are meeting God. The divine enters our lives in a special way when we allow the word and the action of Jesus Christ into our lives. In him, God is near. God is not just a vague presence, but the one who forgives, heals guilt, strengthens weakness. In prayer maybe you can bring now into the presence of Jesus what is mean, sinful or just the dark side of life which tries to use or control others and know that the words of forgiveness and healing and light are spoken to you.
In the moments of the forgiveness of our sins, we are close to the Divinity. Jesus was challenged on his identity when he forgave sins. People said, 'Only God can do this.' The miracle that followed gave credibility to the forgiveness of the paralysed man's sins.
In sacrament and in prayer, God comes nearer to us than ever when our sins are forgiven. Maybe when we forgive each other's we are closest in our lives to the heart of God.