Homily: First Friday of Ordinary Time
First Friday of Ordinary Time (Mk. 2:1-12) “Faith that Heals”
If we asked the typical Christian how people were healed by Jesus, we would probably get a response that would be something like this, “Jesus would heal people who had faith in him.”
We hear in the Gospels that Jesus could not heal people in certain locations because there was a lack of faith there. He would leave those areas and go to places were people were friendlier to his message.
Often, he would comment on the faith of a non-Jew as a reason why he would perform a miracle of healing or a reason why he would heal a person connected to the person who showed faith. We get the impression that faith in God and the power of Jesus as a precondition for healing.
The story that we read today from the Gospel of Mark concerning of the healing of the paralytic breaks the pattern that we have just talked about. The paralytic is brought to Jesus, but the man who is paralyzed does not ask for faith. Nor do the people who bring the man to Jesus ask for healing.
The friends who bring the man to meet Jesus go to a great deal of trouble to introduce their friend to the Lord. Perhaps they just wanted the paralytic to be able to hear Jesus’ hopeful preaching. Why should those with physical challenges be denied an opportunity to hear the Gospel.
Jesus, for whatever reason, acts on his own initiative to forgive the man his sins and to help him to walk again. Could it be, that he was impressed by the many friends the paralyzed man had.
What might we glean from this Gospel story? Perhaps we might surmise that the mercy of God does not always depend on overt faith. The faith of the people who gather around the bed of a sick person is important in the healing of that person. When we say that we will pray for a person that is not a cliché that does no good, but the prayer benefits the person who is ill. There have been studies that have shown that those who are suffering illness heal faster if they know that others are remembering them in prayer. Our faith and the sharing of that faith can be uplifting to those who are suffering.
Reflection Questions:
- Have I ever had someone tell me that they are praying for me? How does that make me feel?
- Do I believe that my prayers have helped someone in a bad situation? When and how did that happen?
Dear Parishioners,
Next week I will be directing retreats at St. Mary Monastery on Sunday through Wednesday. This will be a silent retreat and I will meet with the five retreatants separately ever day. For that reason, I will be away from Sacred Heart, and I will not be offering these reflections on the internet.
I will skip Tuesday through Thursday postings. I will begin to share daily reflections again next Friday. Please pray for the people who will be attending the retreat next week.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark