THE DAILY GOSPEL

January 15, 2016 (Friday)

1st Week In Ordinary Time

Psalter: Week 1/(Green)

Ps 89:16-17, 18-19

Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

1st Reading: 1 S 8:4-7, 10-22a

Because of this, all the chiefs of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel in Ramah. They said to him, “You are already old and your sons are not following your ways. Give us a king to rule over us as in all the other nations.”

Samuel was very displeased with what they said, “Give us a king to rule us,” and he prayed to Yahweh. And Yahweh told him, “Give to this people all that they ask for.

So Samuel answered those who were asking him for a king. He told them all that Yahweh said to him, “Look, these will be the demands of your king: He will take your sons and assign them to his chariot and his horses and have them run before his chariot. Some he will assign as commanders over a thousand men and commanders over 50. Others will till his ground and reap his harvest, make his implements of war and the equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters as well to prepare perfumes, to cook and to bake for him. He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards and your olive orchards and give them to his officials. He will take a 10th portion of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your menservants and maidservants, the best of your cattle and your asses for his own work. He will take the 10th of your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves. When these things happen, you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen for yourselves. But by then, Yahweh will not answer you.”

The people paid no attention to all that Samuel said. They insisted, “No! We want a king to govern us as in all the other nations. Our king shall govern us, lead us and go ahead of us in our battles.” Upon hearing all that his people said, Samuel repeated it to Yahweh. But Yahweh said to him, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Gospel: Mk 2:1-12

After some days, Jesus returned to Capernaum. As the news spread that he was in the house, so many people gathered, that there was no longer room even outside the door. While Jesus was preaching the word to them, some people brought to him a paralyzed man.

The four men who carried him couldn’t get near Jesus because of the crowd, so they opened the roof above the room where Jesus was and, through the hole, lowered the man on his mat. When Jesus saw the faith of these people, he said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”

Now, some teachers of the law, who were sitting there, wondered within themselves, “How can he speak like this, insulting God? Who can forgive sins except God?”

At once, Jesus knew in his spirit what they were thinking, and asked, “Why do you wonder? Is it easier to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your mat and walk?’ But now you shall know, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”

And he said to the paralytic, “Stand up, take up your mat and go home.” The man rose and, in the sight of all those people, he took up his mat and went out. All of them were astonished and praised God, saying, “Never have we seen anything like this!” Reflection:

A small detail in today’s gospel reading is rather intriguing. Usually in a narrative presenting a healing, something is said of the faith of the petitioner. In fact, in most cases it seems that Jesus made the petitioner’s faith a precondition for the granting of a healing. But in today’s story not a word is said about the paralyzed man’s faith. Maybe because the man’s paralysis extended to his vocal chords and prevented him from speaking? The text does not specify. What the text does specify, though, is the faith of the paralyzed man’s four friends, who stubbornly untiled a roof to bring him to Jesus. Now if that is not determination, what is? Apparently, Jesus is entirely won over by this kind of solidarity. “When he saw their faith…”

We were never meant to be saved as isolated units. God wants to help each other on our spiritual journey and delights in nothing more than when he sees us reaching out to a brother or a sister in need (whether material or spiritual). We are not monads. We are a people. We are a family, God’s family.

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