Seventh Sunday Ordinary

Seventh Sunday Ordinary
February 19, 2006

"Remember not the events of the past... see, I am doing something new..." (Isaiah 43). "For the son of God... was not “yes” and “no,” but “yes”... (2 Cor 1). "I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.” He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. (Mark 2: 1-12)

The prophet tells us that the Most High has no "memory" for our weaknesses and failures but sees what is new and fresh. There are also many places in our sacred writings where just the opposite is declared, that God remembers every fault and misstep. So, which one is it? Perhaps it is both, depending on our point of view and attitude. If we devote most of our lives to remembering every slight and hurt ever done to us, it would make sense that our image of God would be punishing and vengeful. If we have desired a forgiving heart that avoids keeping track of all the wrongs in our lives, our image of God would be similar. Most of us have some of both attitudes, much like these two aspects of God in the Scriptures. Every human image of God is inadequate. We choose the images which elicit what is highest and best in us and downplay what is not.

. St. Paul, on a similar theme, says that the son of God was only a "yes". Many of us feel a relentless oppression of guilt no matter how hard we try to be worthy of love from God and others. But freedom from guilt is not something we can earn by effort, no matter how many good deeds we do or prayers we say, God's absolutely free overlooking of our pasts is the only way out of this prison. Gradually allowing the Most High to rid us of slavery to the past allows us to experience every moment as a divine gift of something new. Embracing the Spirit's "yes" to truth, beauty and goodness within and around us is a sign that our eternal destiny has already begun.

The paralytic in the gospel story, unable to do anything for himself, relies completely upon his friends' confidence in Jesus to heal him. This, for obvious reasons, is one of my favorite passages from the gospels. Was this man also afflicted with ALS? If so, chances are he could not even speak on his own behalf. No matter, the paralytic is all of us, totally dependent on God and one another. Just as he was lowered down through the roof where Jesus was, he would later be raised up as Jesus was and we all will be. It was not only his personal trust in God, but more importantly the trust of his community of friends which brought about his transformation. This is a prototype of the human community and the church. Our healing and our future are in each other's hands and hearts. When we say "yes" to one another we imitate God's "yes" and exponentially increase the power of faith beyond anything we can do as individuals.