Gospel of Mark, chapter 2:9

Jesus heals in many ways. He heals us on the inside, and He heals us on the outside. In today’s scripture from the second chapter of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus reveals Himself as the complete healer. Not only does He heal the paralytic of his paralysis, He heals him also on the inside by forgiving his sins.

Of course, the Scribes criticized Jesus for forgiving sins. Only God, they reasoned, could forgive sins, (Mark 1:7) but Jesus is the Son of God and as God’s only Son, He is able to forgive our sins.

Which of the two miracles that Jesus performed in today’s Gospel (Mark 1:1-12) is the most important? Forgiving the paralytic his sins or curing him of his paralysis? Which of the two would you say? Forgiveness of sins is the most important one for that is a miracle that only God or His beloved Son can perform. Yet, this miracle is available to everyone who puts his/her trust in the Lord.

St. Peter asked Jesus how many times should he forgive someone; seven times? No, said Jesus. Not seven times but seventy times seven times (Matthew 8:22). In other words, we must forgive unconditionally; we should forgive from the heart, no strings attached. Some people say: “I will forgive, but I cannot forget.” That is not true forgiveness; that is a cop-out for it continues to nurse a grudge; it continues to hold resentment in the heart. The meaning of resentment is “to feel again.” When you forgive, you need to forget about the wrong done to you; you need to let it go; you need to set yourself free. Forgiveness also means to ‘release from a debt.’ So, when you forgive you release yourself and the other person from the weighty debt of hatred or anger.

The reason we should forgive is that we have all sinned, and we all need God’s forgiveness. God lets His sun shine on the just and the unjust; and He lets His rain fall on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). He treats us all compassionately. We must do the same. We cannot truly love God if we do not forgive our brother and sister from the heart. That is why, whenever we recite the Lord’s prayer, we pray:
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” (Matthew 6:12).

Fr. Hugh Duffy