Forgiveness Of Sins Is The Clue To Healing....

A LENTEN  PILGRIMAGE

Rev. Fr. K M George    The Paralysis -

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On Sunday after the Holy Liturgy I visited an elderly lady - once a highly placed professional woman, now completely paralysed and bedridden. Holy Communion was to be administered to her. Upon my asking whether she was conscious, her family members told me that she was not really aware of much.

 But while praying at her bedside and giving her Communion in liquid form I found her really conscious though she was totally unable to speak or move her limbs.

I saw her eyes swell with tears about to flow down her cheeks. 

The intensity of her inner feelings was obvious. Without any word or gesture we were able to communicate with each other. 

In the liturgy of Holy Qurbana that morning (third Sunday of the Lent) we had just read and meditated on the gospel narrative of Jesus healing the paralytic (Mark 2:3-12).  My encounter with this woman drove home an underlying message from the gospel account: the paralytic brought to the presence of Jesus by four people was sharply conscious of his condition, his surroundings and above all, his past.

Jesus, 'having seen the faith of those brought him', addressed not those helpers, but the paralytic directly:“Son, your sins are forgiven.”(Mark 2: 5) Apparently, the man was waiting to hear these words. He must have reviewed his life, recognized his shortcomings and made some internal reparations for his sins during the period of his illness. This is why the word of forgiveness from Jesus brought immediate healing to him.

No scientific medical text would connect sin to disease. The great success of modern medical science in diagnosis and treatment is due to the discovery of the cause of most of our illnesses, particularly the physical ones. The moral or theological concept of sin has nothing to do with it.

In this biblical incident of the paralytic, forgiveness of sins is the clue to healing. Jesus in other instances would absolutely deny any connection between an individual's misfortune or illness and his/ her sin. In certain psycho-somatic conditions, however, a divine healer like Jesus could discern such hidden connections.

However we should not quote the above example nor apply it in a general sense to judge anyone or make any unfounded assumptions in the case of individuals. What we can recognize at the most is the connection between humanity's collective sinfulness right from Adam and the human predisposition to disease in general.

 Let us not forget that sinless, innocent babies also are infected by disease. They too suffer and die.

Sin is paralysis in various degrees. The Lent is the time to humbly recognize our own personal sinfulness and our great need for healing in the compassionate presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, our "heavenly Physician".