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| Christmas Eve suspense |
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth"
-he said to the paralytic,
"I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home."
He rose, picked up his mat at once,
and went away in the sight of everyone.
that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth"
-he said to the paralytic,
"I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home."
He rose, picked up his mat at once,
and went away in the sight of everyone.
From everything I hear and from my own experience, I have become convinced that
· every problem has a spiritual component;
· that component is often not addressed; and
· the problem cannot be resolved until the spiritual component has been addressed.
By all problems I mean health, financial, relational, marital, military, economic, educational, sexual and so forth. Need I add religious?
Some years ago I lived in a religious community that experienced serious financial problems. Although we consumed as much as ever, we weren’t paying our bills. We just kept getting further behind. Of course we grumbled about the problem but it wasn’t changed until one member conducted an “intervention” with the leader. He said, “Here’s what I think is going on….” It never became clear where the money was going, or how it was mismanaged, but the spiritual issue was addressed and the problem disappeared.
Many people suspect the United States is in decline. Some demanded greater security – more police, stricter laws, bigger prisons, higher walls, stronger military, etc -- even before the infamous 9/11 incident. They never consider where their insecurity lies, deep within their own hearts. Some worry our children are falling behind: they’re cheating in school; they're not challenged; they have too much stuff, etc.; but adult citizens never consider their own attitudes toward learning and continuing formation. They do not see how their idleness sets the standard for their children.
Nearly everyone has some health issues but they want chemicals to fix the problem long before they reexamine their lifestyle, and most sickness in American is caused by lifestyle. “Better living through chemistry” inevitably spreads from legal prescription medicines to illegal prescription medicines, and then to illegal, recreational drugs. Police are warning seniors not to keep medicines where adult grandchildren can get at it.
Someone developed a breathalyzer to lock the car against drunk drivers; parents install devices in their cars to track children’s movement: typical mechanical fixes to spiritual problems.
In today’s gospel Jesus sees what no one else can see: the paralyzed man has a spiritual problem. He needs to hear a word of forgiveness from God. I have watched more than a few patients sail through surgery, rehab and healing after receiving a kind word from God.
Interestingly, the Pharisees would stifle that. They’re the same people who snort in disgust when we propose the practice of virtue instead of their mechanical, chemical, legal, and militaristic fixes.
Jesus tells us repeatedly, the kingdom of God is in your midst. We have only to let it happen. But it might help if we quit looking for shortcuts.
You speak truth. The Little Ones see that.
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