A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
“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.
In today’s Gospel, people bring Jesus a paralytic lying on a stretcher. With the words, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven,” Jesus cures him. The scribes believe Jesus is blaspheming by saying that his sins are forgiven. But Jesus, whose word make reality present, says to the scribes: “Why do you harbor evil thoughts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk'”? Despite the skepticism and opposition Jesus faced from the religious leaders of the time, this reveals Jesus’ power to both heal and forgive as the Word incarnate.
God, thank you for calling me to you as Jesus called the paralytic to take heart and receive his forgiveness. Whether Jesus says “Rise and walk” or “Your sins are forgiven,” that same reality is made present in his words. Reconciled to you in trust, the paralytic was able to rise and go home. Thank you, Father of mercies, for the sacrament of reconciliation. Through it, the reality of your forgiveness is made present today in repentance and in the absolution of the priest who absolves sins by saying, “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
Lord, stay with me today as I recall the Gospel acclamation: “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.