In today’s Gospel we read that Our Lord Jesus Christ, after having been asked by the Gergesenes to leave, has taken a boat and crossed the Sea of Chinnereth, now better known as the Sea of Galilee, to go to his own city, Capernaum.

There, Jesus is met by a group of people who brought him a paralytic man on his bed. What strikes us in this Gospel of Matthew is the shortness of the whole event, quite abrupt and at times almost obscure. Mark the Apostle for example tells these events in much more detail (Mark 1: 21-34).

But stepping away from the style of writing of the Apostle Matthew, we can see that there is a lot going on here.

In this passage, there is a clear manifestation of Jesus’ divinity, and this is shown in the form of three signs:

1) He knows the secrets of hearts. This we find in Kingdoms 1 16:7: But the Lord said to Samuel, “Have no regard for his outward appearance nor for the maturity of his stature, because I have refused him. For man does not see as God sees: for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord sees into the heart.” The man the Lord was alluring to, was Saul. According to Cyprian, God’s judgment will not be merely of outward appearances, but will penetrate much deeper into the heart of man: He sees the heart and mind of every person, and He will judge not only our deeds, but even our words and thoughts.

2) He forgives sins, a power which belongs to God alone.

3) He heals by the power of His word.

Then, our Lord Jesus Christ our Lord says “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you” (Matthew 9:2), followed later in the reading by “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house” (Matthew 9:6).

In these two small passages we can see the order of redemption: the paralytic man is first forgiven his sins and then his physical body is healed. 

Indeed, this same order is preserved when people are brought into the Church.  First their sins are forgiven in the font of baptism. It is at that time that we are made co-heirs with Christ and become children of God.  And then at the end of our lives when we pass away we will finally all be raised in a radiant resurrection body and we will no longer know pain or suffering or travail.

This is the pattern of redemption: the Lord heals the soul and then the body.  Of the two, the healing of the soul is the most important in this life.  One can be free in the Lord and inherit eternal life even in a broken body. Our present bodies are holy but they are nonetheless subject to sin and death. With a broken soul, an unrepentant and unhealed soul, even the body of a supermodel or a top athlete will not save us.

The Lord healed many people and the pattern was to forgive sins and then to heal.  Sometimes sin and sickness go hand in hand.  Disease of the soul can reach out and manifest itself in the body.  This is one of the reasons for the words of forgiveness from the Lord before he healed the body.  Though our illnesses are sometimes the result of sin whether caused by immoderation or by the indulgence of hurtful things, at other times they are not the result of sins, but simply caused by our environment or because of some unknown reason.  None of us will get through life without some suffering. That is impossible.

The Church Fathers teach us to embrace our suffering.  In some cases, as in fasting and vigils, and long bouts of prayer, we afflict ourselves.  This self affliction though is not enough to free us from sin.  It does train us to resist sin, but without involuntary suffering, as was the case with Paul, the voluntary trials can lead us to pride. 

The Church Father Ilias the Presbyter writes in the Philokalia that voluntary suffering must be wed to involuntary suffering, which can take the form of sickness, material losses and slander amongst others) so that the sword of the soul will be tempered by both fire and water. Otherwise it will be shattered by the events of life.  The fire is voluntary and the water is the involuntary suffering.  As I understand his writings, the soul unused to voluntary suffering will fall to temptations that may come along, but the soul unused to involuntary sufferings of various kinds will not know how to rely on God when the really big troubles come. Finally, it is the same as what Paul is told by the Lord, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

In the end one must put suffering into the perspective it deserves.  It is nothing compared to the glory that we shall receive from God.  The paralytic man was bodily healed so that those present would know that the Lord had the greater power, which was the power to forgive sins and heal the soul.  One kind of healing has only temporal significance for us.  It can only last for part of our lifetime (because we are all mortal and we will all die of something), the healing of the soul is everlasting.

     

So my dear brothers and sisters in Christ “be of Good Cheer” so that you may come to believe that you may come to faith and repentance so that you may be healed by our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, because He alone is God, the only One who can forgive our sins, renew our baptism, and help us to progress in our participation in His life.

Call on Him in time of need, entrust yourself to His grace and mercy. His grace is sufficient and His strength is perfected in weakness.

Amen