Monday, December 10, 2018

Monday of the Second Week in Advent

(Isaiah 35:1-10; Luke 5:17-26)

For most of us it is easier to say to a crippled person, “Your sins are forgiven,” than to say, “Stand up and walk.”  This is so because most of us say things to win the approval of others.  No one will know whether the crippled person’s sins are really forgiven.  But if the person does not stand up, they will think us foolish for telling the person to do so. 

Jesus shows himself to be a prophet because he cares about the truth of his words.  He will not say to a person that her sins are forgiven unless he has the authority from God to forgive.  In today’s gospel he shows that authority by healing the cripple.  He also shows himself to be the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy.  He has come to make firm the knees of the weak and to make the lame leap.  He has come to save us from lies and deceit.  He has come to give us joy and gladness.

As that paralyzed man in the gospel cannot walk, we are paralyzed by our social environment so that speaking with complete honesty is difficult.  Jesus heals us of this paralysis so that we not just tell the truth but do so in love.  In this way those around us will give more than a nod of approval.  They will thank God for our presence to them.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Galatians 2:1-2.7-14; Luke 11:1-14)

Pope John Paul II, who is legitimately called “the Great,” received his doctorate degree from the University of St. Thomas in Rome. One of his professors, an elderly Dominican priest whom the pope credited as having special influence on him, was once asked how he remembered the future pope. The old man confessed that he had so many students over his decades at the university that he could not remember him. His surprising comment has been cited as a mark of honesty.

St. Paul writes of a situation in which he was called to respond with equal honesty. He saw Peter eating what was probably pork with the non-Jews of the Christian community in Antioch. But as soon as Jewish officials from Jerusalem arrived, Peter separated himself from the ham eaters. In order not to confuse non-Jewish Christians, Paul speaks out against what he calls in today’s passage from his Letter to the Galatians “hypocrisy.”

Too often we try to please ourselves or others by disregarding the truth. It is not easy to tell a friend that he is doing something sinful or to speak up when an official equivocates about what is happening in one’s firm, but there is an obligation to do so when such action results in harm. Paul is not afraid of being honest because he knows that Christ is with him. He is also with us. After thoughtful, prayerful reflection we should not remain silent when we see people being hurt by another’s transgressing the truth.