The Paralyzed and the Paralytic!

Memorial of Saint Ambrose

Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Reflections on Isaiah 35:1-10 /  Psalm 85:9AB & 10, 11-12, 13-14 / Luke 5:17-26
by Frank Savadera SJ

We are reading from the FIRST BOOKS of Isaiah;  the Messiahnic prophesies;  Jerusalem was being threatened by its enemies and Isaiah sends out a prophesy:  “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.”  In short, the message for us is … DO NOT BE AFRAID!  All shall be WELL … because someone, a MESSIAH will come to relieve us from all our pains, doubts and fears.  Further, Isaiah says: We will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak. Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God.  This corresponds well to our Psalm today isn’t it:  Our God will come to save us!     In whatever way he may do so … we trust … that He will save us … as He is already saving us.  Just imagine if today … you were SOMEWHERE ELSE and NOT HERE.  You may have remained UNSAVED.  Thus, amid all our anxieties nowadays, the word of God remains for us:   DO NOT BE AFRAID!  All shall be WELL …    Our God will come to save us … yes … even from ourselves.

There are a lot of details in this Gospel that are worth tackling:  First, Jesus was struck not only by the faith of the paralyzed man but as well the faith of the friends who toiled to carry the man to Jesus.  It says:  “Jesus saw their faith.”  There is power of faith expressed as a community.  Second, while the other Gospels talked about opening up the roof (usually made up of straw), LUKE speaks about lowering the paralyzed man through the TILES of the roof.  Luke was talking to a more sophisticated crowd here.  Sosyal na sila … di ba?   

Another striking detail:  While the other Gospel versions talk about the PARALYTIC, Luke … a medical doctor, talks about the “man who was paralyzed.”  What’s the difference?  A “paralytic” is a more medical term, isn’t it?  On the other hand, “a man who is paralyzed” may mean a variety of things, isn’t it?  I can be paralyzed from doing my work and mission yet I need not be a paralytic.  What’s the point? 

Well for one, the Gospel today seems to project an image of Jesus who is overly SHOWING OFF.  Not only is he someone who heals PHYSICAL AILMENTS, HE also FORGIVES SINS … and this is when He gets into trouble.  Only God can forgive sins.  Yet Jesus declares it:  “As for you, your sins are forgiven.”   I say, He must really be showing off because He knew WHO were in His audience.  These were people with TILES on their roofs … Pharisees and teachers of the law were inside the house.   “As for you, your sins are forgiven,” means for all who were present that Jesus was NOT merely a HEALER (albularyo) but He claims equality with the Father as well.  Thus, for some conservative Jews, Jesus blasphemes.  He was being disrespectful of Yahweh.  They made judgments of Him. 

What’s my point?  God through Jesus communicates His DIVINITY to us.  This is happening even now … through His promises that ALL SHALL BE WELL.  DO NOT BE AFRAID!  Your enemies shall never overtake you.  Jesus communicates His divinity to us as a people.  He sees our collective faith.  We all need to pray for one another.  Jesus shows His divinity by showing impartiality for people with roofs that are either STRAW or TILED.   Jesus heals both the paralytic and the paralyzed.  At every opportunity,  God continually SHOWS OFF … communicates His power and divinity for all of us to see and experience.  What then seems to matter most for Jesus?      

In the Gospel, Luke notes that Jesus knew their thoughts.  Jesus asked them what He can be asking us as well:  “What are you thinking in your hearts?  He knows yet He STILL asks:  “What are you thinking in your hearts?   Not so much that He wanted to know … because He already knows … but I guess for us to determine for ourselves:  WHAT REALLY IS IN MY HEART?  What is in our hearts will determine if we will live our lives QUESTIONING always the miracles of Jesus OR decide to be seized continuously by awe and astonishment that “We have seen incredible things today … and everyday.”  

God Calls Us As He Knows US

Reflections on Romans 10:9-18 / Matthew 4:18-22

by Frank Savadera, SJ

I don’t know if you agree … but nowadays, we’ve been introduced to a barrage and variety of new superheroes. When in the past, we only had the likes of Superman, Batman and Robin, Captain America, Mighty Thor, Spider Man, the Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, Darna, Captain Barbell, Lastikman, etc. … nowadays … we hear of characters like the POWER RANGERS, the INCREDIBLES, the X-MEN, the SHE-HULK, DRAX THE DESTROYER,  the ANT MAN, MS MARVEL, SQUIRREL GIRL, etc. (Lola Nidora and AlDub had become popular but I don’t know if they are superheroes).  Mind you, I don’t know them all anymore.  Maybe you know better than I.  The common element among these superheroes, if we notice is that they all possess some kind of super powers not available to ordinary creatures like you and me.  Consequently, as encapsulated by Spider Man in his popular line:  With GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY … and not only that … with GREAT POWER comes GREAT POPULARITY as well.   

I call your attention to the statement we read from the Gospel today:  “They were casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  Immediately, we may think … Oh, our Lord as bestowing on these simple folks some kind of power that will give these men SUPER HERO and ROCK STAR STATUS.  On one hand … we say … YES … they’ve been handed some form of power.  Saint Andrew came to evangelize parts of Greece and he was martyred there.  Yes … the apostles have in a way become popular … popular enough that we celebrate the feasts of saints every so often.   But how are Jesus’ apostles or how those whom he had called … different from the usual SUPER HEROES?    

They were fishermen and they were asked to be fishers of men.  The CALL comes with an understanding of who and what we are … my IDENTITY as a person.  I think this is where the CALL, the POWER and ROCK STAR and SUPER HERO status lie:  Maybe God will not call us BEYOND our LIMITED CAPACITIES or expect or endow us with EXTRA ORDINARY skills … but HE CALLS US AS HE KNOWS US.  The question is:  do we find time to know more about ourselves.  Minsan kasi … banat lang ng banat.  Suntok lang ng suntok.  Eh madalas … wala tuloy tayong tinatamaan.  Sometimes, we are just so excited to get into a project yet not making an inventory of my capacity to comply with requirements for the said project.  What happens to us?  We can actually end up NOT finishing well, right? Worst, we can get very very frustrated with ourselves.  The apostles were fishermen and they were called to be fishers of men.  The Call is very much hinged on how God knows us and how we had gotten to know more of ourselves.   Kung SINO KA at ANO KA… dyan at ganyan ka tatawagin at gagamitin ng Diyos.  That is where your SUPER HERO and ROCK STAR status lies. 

How are we then to be helped in understanding this person whom God is calling?  Paul in his letter to the Romans asked:  How can they believe in him of whom they have not heard?   FAITH COMES FROM HEARING!  Our ears must be constantly attuned to the sound waves of God … else we get caught up with the bewildering variety of noises around us.  We have to hear and listen to how God speaks even if what we hear may be totally different from what we expect to hear.  Saint Paul again says:  “How can they call on him in whom they have not believed?”   Hearing and listening must bring us to believe.  The are two ways to do so in the first reading:  TO BELIEVE IN OUR HEARTS and BELIEVE WITH OUR HEARTS.  Believe in our hearts more than in our heads:  This asks us how do I feel?  Am I at peace?  What emotions come to me?  Believe with our hearts: a certain FIRMNESS and COURAGE to manifest what I believe against all odds.  Believing with one’s heart.  And lastly, we FOLLOW and PROCLAIM/ CONFESS with our MOUTHS what we believe.   Imagine this line from the 1^st reading:  Their voice has gone forth to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.

We are SUPERHEROES in our own right as we see God’s call as totally hinged on our understanding of who and what we are.  We fortify and nourish such a call by constantly finding time to HEAR & LISTEN to God’s Word; having the courage to risk and believe with passion to proclaim God word to the ends of the earth.  RockStar ka!