today's other readings are Heb. 4: 1-5, 11 and Psalm 78
Today's gospel is a favourite of mine. One particular joy of this story is that it is a perfect example of the benefits of using the Ignatian method of prayer, in which you place yourself into the story. Using your God-given imagination and 5 senses you are blessed with, you are there, watching, listening, being attentive as the story unfolds. So you picture the crowded house, jammed with people, straining to see and hear what Jesus is doing and saying. You notice the commotion outside of others who can't get in. And then, continue to let the story unfold.
Allow me to share 2 of the many things that strike me as I enter into this story. When the 4 men get up to the roof with the paralyzed man, I notice the homeowner getting irate and yelling - he asks Jesus to get them to stop. Jesus just waives him away. He's curious about what is going on. The second: when Jesus initially forgives the man of his sins, I can just the four others saying to themselves, "That's great. But for all that we went through to get him here, can you do something about his paralysis?" Which of course, He soon does.
After I finish with the story, now I step back out of the scene. One thing that occurs to me is that Jesus first forgives the man's sins, and then He heals him. Think about that for a moment. What is He telling us? That the forgiveness of sins is first and foremost the greatest form of healing we can ever get. And while healing miracles certainly do get our attention, it is the forgiveness of sins that seems to be most important to our God.
As a priest, then, it is only natural for me to ask, and long before the pandemic started, "So why are so wanting to receive the greatest healing of all? Why are so few coming to confession?"