Sunday, February 19, 2012

Which is easier?

A great Gospel passage for today's Mass.  One of me favorite passages to preach upon.  In the end, Christ's words to the Scribes can be asked of every group present at the Lord's house in Capernaum:

  • The people in the house might have complained it was too crowded, or too warm, or there were no snacks to be had.  They might have even walked out early, before any miracles happened.  It was harder to stay put.
  • The friends who brought the paralytic might have had second thoughts when they saw the lines of people waiting for their moment with Jesus.  Certainly carrying their friend wasn't easy.  Lifting him onto the roof couldn't have been, either.  Taking the roof apart and lowering him had to be hard to do.  But they did it.
  • The paralytic must've been terrified.  To be hauled onto a stretcher and bumped along as they walked around people had to be scary.  Having people stare and murmur had to be humiliating.  He had to be thinking it would have been easier to stay at home, stay in his misery, stay injured.  Now you've been dropped in front of Jesus, a man you don't know, feeling helpless and exposed.  Imagine the feelings going through his head when Jesus asks him to rise up?
Lent is coming; time for resolutions.  We can pick the easy ones (those are the ones that we're going right back to, once Easter comes), or we can dig deeper.  Like that roof, what do we have that has to be "broken through" to bring it to Jesus?

1 comment:

ProudCatholic said...

Beautiful, Father. Wonderful question to be pondered and acted on this Lent. Thank you!