JESUS – GOD THE HEALER AND FORGIVER
Introduction
The priest Amaziah, in the name of the lord king, judges as inopportune the word of God through the prophet Amos. It is not politically relevant and hurts his personal trade.
It was, humanly speaking, a meagre consolation for the cripple to hear that his sins were forgiven. But to the believer, sin is the root of human ills; when this root is taken away by conversion and forgiveness, the whole person is saved, also in one’s body. In the Gospel, the scribes call Jesus a blasphemer. The official people of institutionalized religion challenge the true message of God, on account of so-called true religion. Let us pray today that we may recognize the true Spirit of God when there is a message to tell us, even when it is unpleasant.
1 Reading Amos 7:10-17
Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam,
king of Israel:
“Amos has conspired against you here within Israel;
the country cannot endure all his words.
For this is what Amos says:
Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel shall surely be exiled from its land.”
To Amos, Amaziah said:
“Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!
There earn your bread by prophesying,
but never again prophesy in Bethel;
for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”
Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet,
nor have I belonged to a company of prophets;
I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.
The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me,
‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
Now hear the word of the LORD!”
You say: prophesy not against Israel,
preach not against the house of Isaac.
Now thus says the LORD:
Your wife shall be made a harlot in the city,
and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword;
Your land shall be divided by measuring line,
and you yourself shall die in an unclean land;
Israel shall be exiled far from its land.
Responsorial Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11
R. (10cd) The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
Alleluia 2 Corinthians 5:19
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Matthew 9:1-8
After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
“This man is blaspheming.”
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
“Why do you harbour evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins”–
he then said to the paralytic,
“Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.
Commentary:
Orthodox Jews at the time of Jesus believed that all suffering was the result of sin. A sick person was therefore regarded as a proven sinner. With such a belief, no one was likely to be healed in body if he was not convinced that his sins were forgiven. For this reason Jesus said to him, “Your sins are forgiven.” And to the people who objected to this statement, he was able to adduce the physical healing he had just performed. Nowadays we are quite ready to believe that body and soul are not disconnected; so we can see some sense in this Jewish belief. Sicknesses of the soul can affect the body; we are psychosomatic beings (in Greek psyche = soul, and soma = body). We could go further and call ourselves ‘pneumosomatic’, inventing a new word. What is in our spirit (pneuma) affects the body. (This might be a useful way to describe stigmata, etc.) However, we would not want to take such automatic readings as did those ancient Jews. It remains true, though, that sin cripples us in some sense. It dulls the spirit, hardens the heart, blinds the eye of the mind, limits the imagination, brutalizes the feelings…. We need to hear those words, “Get up and walk!” In this case, you can as well leave the stretcher behind.
Blessing
With the lame man when he was healed, we praise and thank God who says to us too when we have sinned: “stand up and walk.” May God keep you walking and may he bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!