CAN YOU FIGURE IT OUT?

Friday in the 1st Week of the Ordinary Time
Mk 2:1-12

Paralysis is immobility. The paralytic is someone who cannot move, partially or totally. Whatever the extent of the paralysis is, the paralytic is one who does not enjoy wholeness. Jesus heals a paralytic man today, spiritually and physically, wholly. But the scribes are not happy about it.

The scribes are not happy about the cure of the paralytic because Jesus restores not only the physical wellbeing of the man but also his spiritual health. Jesus forgives the paralytic of his sins. Whatever the height of their social standing, the scribes are not an ounce more whole than the paralytic is.

Reading the Gospel for today as it is written, we may conclude that Jesus’ intention really was to heal the paralytic from his spiritual infirmity more than from his physical handicap. The physical healing seems to have been an after thought, something that Jesus had to resort to in defense after the scribes challenged His power and authority to forgive sins.

When I read this particular episode in the Gospel, I sometimes wonder if the paralytic man would have been healed had the scribes not accused Jesus of blasphemy. If after forgiving the sins of the paralytic, everybody was satisfied and no criticism against Jesus was raised, would the story end there and the man carried back to his house, forgiven from his sins but still paralyzed nonetheless?

If such were the case, would we have this story find its way in the Gospel? The answer would depend on how the early Christian community really looked on Jesus. And the Gospel today reveals the answer.

Do you figure out what the answer is? If not, you could be either the paralytic or one of the scribes.