WE CAN HAVE
TRUE PEACE
We
need to ask ourselves what kind of a king or leader we want in our lives. From
Scripture we know that the Israelites were looking for someone who would insure
safety and security. Do we want someone who can safeguard us against sin, which
alone can ultimately destroy us? Do we want someone who can give us everlasting
security through eternal life?
In today's Gospel we hear about healing and forgiveness!
Jesus is the treatment for each of us in our human weakness. When someone
physically challenged was brought to Jesus because of the faith of his friends,
Jesus did the unthinkable. First, He forgave the man's sins. The scribes
regarded this as blasphemy because they understood that only God had the
authority to forgive sins and to unbind a man from his burden of guilt. Jesus
claimed an authority that came from God and He showed the power of God's
redeeming love and mercy by healing the cripple of his physical ailment. This
man had been crippled not only physically, but spiritually as well. Jesus freed
him from his guilt and restored his body also.
The Lord Jesus is always there to fulfill us on our journey
through life. Together, forgiveness and healing proclaim God's desire and
intention to restore wholeness to every dimension of our lives. Jesus filled
the yearnings for a King in Israel
in a way which the people of that time could never have imagined. God is our
true King and we must make Him the center and core of our lives and our hearts.
In the Gospel today, Jesus heals a paralyzed man; something that can be proven
to be true. When He does this He deepens our trust that His forgiveness is the
only way by which we can have true peace.
We are reminded of this in the first reading from the
Letter to the Hebrews, "For we who believe enter into [His] rest"
(Heb 4:3) and receive His everlasting peace. And so let us strive to enter in!
May we not forget the deeds of God!