Did the paralyzed man believe in Jesus? The paralyzed man was lying helpless in his mat. 

On his own, he could not to Jesus.

What we do know is that those men who carried him had faith,

that Jesus saw the faith of those people and healed the paralytic.

Faith was the door opening to the forgiveness of sins.

 

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22a

Because of this,

All the chiefs of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel in Ramah. They said to him, "You are already old and your sons are not following your ways. Give us a king to rule over us as in all the other nations."

Samuel was very displeased with what they said, "Give us a king to rule us," and he prayed to Yahweh. And Yahweh told him, "Give to this people all that they ask for."

 

So Samuel answered those who were asking him for a king, He told them all that Yahweh said to him, "Look, these will be the demands of your king: he will take your sons and assign them to his chariot and his horses and have them run before his chariot. Some he will assign as commanders over a thousand men and commanders over fifty.

Others will till his ground and reap his harvest, make his implements of war and the equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters as well to prepare perfumes, to cook and to bake for him. He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards and your olive orchards and give them to his officials. He will take a tenth portion of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.

 

He will take your menservants and maidservants, the best of your cattle and your asses for his own work. He will take the tenth of your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves. When these things happen, you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen for yourselves. But by then, Yahweh will not answer you."

 

The people paid no attention to all that Samuel said. They insisted, "No! We want a king to govern us as in all the other nations. Our king shall govern us, lead us and go ahead of us in our battles. Upon hearing all that his people said, Samuel repeated it to Yahweh. But Yahweh said to him, "Listen to them and give them a king." Samuel then said to the Israelites, "Go back, all of you, to your own cities."

 

Ps 89:16-17, 18-19 Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Mark 2:1-12 a

After some days, Jesus returned to Capernaum. As the news spread that he was in the house, so many people gathered, that there was no longer room even outside the door. While Jesus was preaching the word to them, some people brought to him a paralyzed man.

The four men who carried him couldn't get near Jesus because of the crowd, so they opened the roof above the room where Jesus was and, through the hole, lowered the man on his mat. When Jesus saw the faith of these people, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven."

 

Now, some teachers of the law, who were sitting there, wondered within themselves, "How can he speak like this, insulting God? Who can forgive sins except God?"

At once, Jesus knew in his spirit what they were thinking, and asked, "Why do you wonder? Is it easier to say to this paralyzed man, 'Your sins are forgiven, or to say, 'Rise, take up your mat and walk?' But now you shall know, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins."

And he said to the paralytic, "Stand up, take up your mat and go home." The man rose and, in the sight of all those people, he took up his mat and went out. All of them were astonished and praised God, saying, "Never have we seen anything like this!"

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Loving relationship."

While an ill intention is at all times paralyzing, a good intention of separate individuals, put together, is liberating. A loving relationship existing within a small group of people will always find a way to liberate one more person so that this person will himself experience the saving power of God's love.

 

Are we the type of persons who want others to experience God's saving power or are we the kind of persons who would try to pull others down? In today's Gospel, Jesus healed a paralytic brought to him by four other men via the roof of a house. Jesus healed the paralytic by first forgiving his sins. With this, the teachers of the law thought ill of Jesus.

 

The four men became instruments of the paralytic's liberation. The teachers of the law appeared to be the ones who are truly paralyzed due to their legalistic tendency and hardened hearts, preventing them to understand what a loving relationship truly is. When we are in a loving relationship, we can only become God's instrument of salvation and we can only be happy for other people whenever they receive blessings from the Lord.