20200702 GOD GIVES MAN THE AUTHORITY TO FORGIVE SINS
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading
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Amos 7:10-17 ©
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The Lord took me from herding the flock and sent me to prophesy
Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel as follows. ‘Amos is plotting against you in the heart of the House of Israel; the country can no longer tolerate what he keeps saying. For this is what he says, “Jeroboam is going to die by the sword, and Israel go into exile far from its country.”’ To Amos, Amaziah said, ‘Go away, seer;’ get back to the land of Judah; earn your bread there, do your prophesying there. We want no more prophesying in Bethel; this is the royal sanctuary, the national temple.’ ‘I was no prophet, neither did I belong to any of the brotherhoods of prophets,’ Amos replied to Amaziah ‘I was a shepherd, and looked after sycamores: but it was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” So listen to the word of the Lord.
‘You say:
‘“Do not prophesy against Israel,
utter no oracles against the House of Isaac.”
‘Very well, this is what the Lord says,
‘“Your wife will be forced to go on the streets,
your sons and daughters will fall by the sword,
your land be parcelled out by measuring line,
and you yourself die on unclean soil
and Israel will go into exile far distant from its own land.”’
Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 18(19):8-11 ©
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The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
They are more to be desired than gold,
than the purest of gold
and sweeter are they than honey,
than honey from the comb.
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
Gospel Acclamation
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Or:
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2Co5:19
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
Gospel
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Matthew 9:1-8 ©
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'Your sins are forgiven; get up and walk'
Jesus got in the boat, crossed the water and came to his own town. Then some people appeared, bringing him a paralytic stretched out on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Courage, my child, your sins are forgiven.’ And at this some scribes said to themselves, ‘This man is blaspheming.’ Knowing what was in their minds Jesus said, ‘Why do you have such wicked thoughts in your hearts? Now, which of these is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up and walk”? But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ – he said to the paralytic – ‘get up, and pick up your bed and go off home.’ And the man got up and went home. A feeling of awe came over the crowd when they saw this, and they praised God for giving such power to men.
GOD GIVES MAN THE AUTHORITY TO FORGIVE SINS
02 July, 2020, Thursday, 13th Week, Ordinary Time
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Amos 7:10-17; Ps 19:8-11; Mt 9:1-8]
One of the most beautiful sacraments Christ has left to the Church is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is more than just a sacrament for the forgiveness of sins but it is a sacrament of healing. Indeed, there can be no effective healing of the body or the mind unless the soul is first healed. The bible has always taught the close connection between bodily sickness and spiritual healing. Bodily illness was always associated with sin because the consequence of sin is a fallen nature, a loss of integrity and immunity to pain, disease and death. When the soul is sick, the body will become sick as well, since the body is the window to the Spirit. In fact, those who seek bodily healing often do not get healed because they have not let go of their sins, their irregular relationships, and their inability to forgive those who have hurt them, their attachment to sinful lifestyle. These cause the mind and heart to be unsettled, anxious, worried and guilty. And even if they are healed, because of the lack of immunity, they will fall sick quickly. This forgiveness can also be exercised in a personal way by forgiving those who have hurt us or when we lead sinners back to God.
It is for this reason that the Lord, upon seeing the paralytic, forgave his sins before healing him bodily. He knew the man was carrying the wounds of his past, the lack of forgiveness in his heart, resentment against God and loss of faith in life. His real paralysis was his sin. So Jesus took the first step of freeing him from his guilt and past. Jesus said to the paralytic, “Courage, my child, your sins are forgiven.” Such beautiful words coming from the lips of our Lord! He called the paralytic, “my child!” It was as if God was telling the man, “you are my child, you belong to me. Even if you have left me and are in sin, you are still my child. I am your Father and I love you and care for you.” After calling him, “my child”, the Lord said, “your sins are forgiven.” We can be sure that upon hearing these words, some currents would have gone through the man’s nerves and body, releasing him from his guilt, resentment and anger. His soul and heart were set free, having been assured of God’s forgiveness. He felt lighter and liberated as he was now at peace with himself, with God and with the world. Only then did the Lord say to the paralytic, “get up, pick up your bed and go off home.” Once his soul was healed, he could then be restored bodily as well.
How can we be so sure that indeed his sins were forgiven? This was the question posed by the scribes. They thought to themselves. “This man is blaspheming.” This was because according to their theological training, only God could forgive sins. Secondly, our sins could only be taken away when they offered the atonement sacrifice at the Temple. It was therefore presumptuous of Jesus who was a man to forgive sins without asking the man to go through the proper procedures. Jesus proved them wrong by healing the man. He said, “Now, which of these is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Get up and walk”? But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ – he said to the paralytic – ‘get up, pick up your bed and go off home.'” The fact that the man was able to walk meant that his sins were forgiven; otherwise he would not have been able to walk, based on the scripture’s teaching that illness is the consequence of one’s sins.
Indeed, “the man got up and went home. A feeling of awe came over the crowd when they saw this, and they praised God for giving such power to men.” What is this power that God gave to men? It is the power of forgiving sins! Why does God give His power to forgive sins to men? It is because as human beings we need a mediator to hear the words of forgiveness and to receive healing in a personal way, body and soul. As human beings, we need to touch the love of God in an incarnated manner. This is the reason for the incarnation. Jesus became man so that He could reveal to us in person, in His body and Spirit, the love and mercy of the Father. Jesus as the Son of God could forgive sins. But He forgave sins through His humanity so that all could receive it in person.
This same power to forgive sins has been given to the Church, specifically to the apostles who have authority over the Church. St Peter after confessing his faith in Christ as the Son of the Living God, our Lord Jesus appointed him as the leader, His vicar when He said to him, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mt 16:18f) This power to forgive sins is also given to all the apostles at Pentecost, when the Lord breathed His Spirit on them saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (Jn 20:22f) But this power to forgive sins by extension is also given to all His disciples. The Lord commissioned them to go out into the world, “Repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Lk 24:47f)
Hence, we see the development of the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the early Church. In the letter of James, exhorting the Christians, he said, “Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.” (Jms 5:14-16) This is why we Catholics go to a priest, as he is deputized by the Bishop who is the Head of the local Church, for confession, for reconciliation and healing. Of course, only God can forgive. However, the priest acts on His behalf. He mediates the divine forgiveness to the penitent.
This forgiveness can also be exercised in a personal way by forgiving those who have hurt us or when we lead sinners back to God. St James wrote, “My brethren, if any one among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (Jms 5:19f) Like the Prophet Amos, sometimes, we call people to repentance even when unwelcome. Amos called the king of Israel, their leaders and people to repentance. But the chief priest, Amaziah of the sanctuary of Bethel, told him to go back to Judah where he belonged. Amos was not welcomed because he spoke against the establishment of his day, bringing news which they did not want to hear because it was too discouraging even if it were true. But Amos had to speak the Word of God welcome or unwelcome. We, too, must preach the gospel of repentance in and out of season as St Paul urges us. “Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching.” (2 Tim 4:2)
We are called to be the friends of the paralytic man, those who are paralyzed by sins and the sufferings of life. We are not too sure whether the man was forced to come to Jesus or whether he came willingly even though skeptically. The gospel never spoke about the faith of the man but the faith of his friends. It was upon seeing their faith, not the faith of the paralytic that Jesus agreed to heal the man by first forgiving his sins. We are channels of faith. But to be effective channels of faith in bringing people to Jesus, we ourselves must be people of faith. Only faith can inspire faith in others. This was the most likely case in the gospel. Our task is to bring people to Jesus. We cannot force people to accept Jesus or to accept our doctrines. All we need to do is to bring people to Jesus. Once we have brought them to Jesus, the Lord will know what to do with them and how to win them over. When someone is brought before the Lord, His presence will open their hearts and minds. This is why it is important to find opportunities to introduce people to Jesus and to bring them to meet Him at the Eucharist, prayer meetings or faith sharing groups. We do not have to convert them but we need to let them get to know Jesus, just as the priest who forgives our sins at confession is only an instrument of God who knows our hearts and forgives us through him. It is the Holy Spirit who will touch their hearts not us. We are conduits only.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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