Thursday, July 2, 2020
Bible Text: “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralyzed man, take heart my son, your sins are forgiven”. Matthew 9. 1-8
There are thousands of definitions of what friendship is all about. However, for the purpose of our reflection, let me use this one. Friendship is a close association between two or more people marked by feelings of care, respect, admiration, concern, or even love. It is our desire to care for and be cared for by others. This is deeply seated in our human nature.
The gospel reveals to us about several persons who showed their utmost concern to the paralytic who was unable to do so to beg for healing from Jesus. They were only described as “some people” who do not have any blood relationship with the invalid whom I presumed they are friends to him. I call them friends definitely because of what they have done to him. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Jesus was greatly impressed by their gesture of being Good Samaritan to the paralyzed person. It was mentioned; “when Jesus saw their faith” Jesus right away attended to the need of the paralytic. Take heart, your sins are forgiven. Here we see that the sacrifice of others in us will always be recognized by God. This is precisely the vision of our parish; safety is not only a personal concern but we also to uphold the welfare of others both spiritual and material. We must be keepers of each other. Our parish will be a thriving community if everyone is consciously motivated with this kind of attitude. Let us bring each other closer to Jesus.
We have to be aware that lukewarmness also dwells in us. Perhaps we feel we don't care about others safety like the scribes. Something good happened to the paralytic but the issue was made. Obviously they are not happy and they don't care whether others are saved or not. They were blinded by their perception that safety was personal concern and they were not affected by what happened to others. We have to transform this kind of attitude by authentic friendly attitude.
We need Jesus in our life; we need Jesus in our community. Let us help each other bring closer to Jesus. He is our true friend. He has the ultimate power to heal both our spiritual and physical brokenness.