Friday of the
First Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 4:1-5.11; Mark 2:1-12)
Time magazine
once interviewed the celebrated atheist Richard Dawkins. The interviewer posed the possibility of an
ultimate being that gave rise to the forces producing the universe. Dawkins admitted that the question intrigued
him but quickly distanced himself from belief in a personal God. In today’s gospel Mark gives glimpses of
Jesus who does precisely what Dawkins finds incredible.
In the Old Testament God is said not to judge by appearances
because He knows the human heart. Jesus in
today’s passage shows himself with such knowledge. He reads the hearts of the scribes who
silently accuse him of blasphemy. More
than that, Jesus shows that he indeed can forgive sins, which is also said to
be attributed to God alone. He pronounces
the sins of the paralytic forgiven. Then
he takes away the paralysis to verify the legitimacy of his pronouncement. It
may be added that the four men who carry the paralytic show the same faith in
Jesus as was reserved for God in the Old Testament.
Lots of things today interfere with faith. People seek gratification of desire. Scientists often scoff at the idea. Christians fail to give witness. We must not allow these or any other
condition interfere with our faith in the Lord.
Staying close to him, our sins will be forgiven, our lives will be
worthy, and we will enter into eternal life.
