Homily

Thinking about the paralytic, I was wondering how very difficult, how awful, it must have been for him not to be able to walk. In any time or place it has to be very, very tough not to be able to walk and get to where you want to go, but in Palestine, 2000 years ago it was a very different situation than it is for us here in 2021. There were no wheelchairs or electric carts for him to ride in. Imagine that! Something that seems so simple was not available to him. Obviously the only other way he could get around was if other people carried him, as they do in today's Gospel. He spent all his time at ground level looking up at people who were able-bodied, going wherever they wanted to go. It was a difficult way to have to live in this world.

But Jesus does not cure him of this problem first. He cures him of a sickness that has eternal consequences, a weight that lasts beyond the grave, a handicap that cannot be seen but is even worse than paralysis: He forgives the man's sins. He heals the wounds of his soul. He restores him to a state of innocence. This man may not be able to walk but he has been given a gift that not even the wealthiest person in the world could buy, for indeed, who can forgive sins except God alone?

Then the Lord cures him of his physical disability, and we can imagine how wonderful, how life-changing, this cure must have been for him. But I ask you which cure do you think he valued most, which healing gave him the greater freedom? Was it the physical cure or the spiritual healing? Do you think the man believed that his sins were pardoned, that Jesus had the authority to do that? The Gospel doesn't say, but I think he did. St. Mark writes about the man and his friends: "Jesus, seeing their faith..." Mark uses few words but the words he uses carry a very great weight. So if he writes that Jesus saw their faith, he is likely implying that they had a great faith in Jesus. Lowering the man through the roof shows us.

Now there are two ways to look at what happened to this man in today's Gospel, and they are just different sides of the same coin. On the one side we can say that the man's sins were rooted out and thrown away, and that his physical handicap was also removed. On the other side we can say that his spirit was cured of the disease of sin and refreshed by the Lord's pardon, and that he was granted a new and joyful freedom in being able to get around and walk wherever he wanted to go. He's going to need to buy a pair of sandals for the first time perhaps in many years. We can see this man in the light of the bad that was taken away, or in the light of the good that he received. Both sides of the coin are true and real, and they both describe the greatest day in this paralyzed man’s life.

For our Lenten work this year I would to suggest we try to imitate what happened to this man. On the one side of the coin we can focus on one type of sin, or one area of sinning, or one way in which we find ourselves to be especially weak. It might be jealousy or envy, selfishness or impatience, or any other sin or weakness that we choose as our target. We can refine it even more if we wish by choosing the place where it happens the most, such as at work, or at home. We can also narrow it down to persons whom we sin against, such as my wife, my parents, my fellow drivers, or everybody in Lane County. The people in Marion County are currently safe from me. (You would think they would be more grateful.) It can be extremely helpful to pick a particular problem, a particular sin or weakness and keep our efforts focused on rooting it out as much as we can, avoiding it by making it a target every Lenten day. Pick it to pluck it out. Ask the Lord for the grace to overcome it and use as much will and skill as possible to get rid of it. And if we cannot get rid of it as of now, then let us work to cut it out and prune it down as much as we are able without getting discouraged even if we think we are not making progress. The devil loves to discourage us and tell us that all our efforts are worthless and we ought to give up. Let us remember that none of the effort we put into avoiding sin ever goes to waste, because even if we think we are not making any progress in this one particular area, it doesn't mean we are not growing in Christ as a whole person.

Taking the other side of the coin let us also work on something positive that we can say, or do, or think, or pray on and about. Let us intentionally use some virtue, some talent, some grace in a particular way or with particular people and spread something good more out into the world. Maybe there are people or a person we ought to be more helpful to, or more supportive of them, or be more considerate of them. Maybe I need to use my mouth more for good than for evil. More time for prayer for myself or others. Maybe it is in giving alms, or in volunteering or focusing on bringing some joy to other people—but picking one positive virtue or benefit to work on every day until Pascha.

To work on rooting out one bad thing and also helping by working on one good thing every day—let it be our Lenten Weed and Feed. Weed and Feed every day, on specific items we choose for ourselves for the next five weeks, so that we can stand up spiritually taller and straighter at Pascha because we have picked up our mats and in faith we know we are headed for home, as Jesus calls us.