Thursday of Week 13 in Ordinary Time (Year II)
Amos 7:10-17 | Psalm 18:8-11 | Matthew 9:1-8
Then some people appeared, bringing him a paralytic stretched out on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Courage, my child, your sins are forgiven’. (Matthew 9:2)
Even in this modern age of advanced medicine and scientific reasoning, many of us still instinctively react to a leper or other terribly-afflicted person with “poor chap, wonder what grievous sin he committed”. We mentally curse those who we feel are great sinners with “you just wait, your sins will rebound on you”. Some of us even invoke “karma” as often as “oh my God”.
Yet when we pray for our suffering friends and loved ones, we never ask for their sins to be forgiven. Why is there such a stark contradiction in our faith, that we unconsciously tie grievous suffering to mortal sin, yet don’t follow through with the obvious solution? Why do we not pray “Lord, forgive him his sins and thereby heal him of his infirmity”?
Perhaps we don’t actually believe, despite our reactions, that there’s an intimate link between sin and temporal suffering. After all, the Gospels (Mark 2:1-12 also documents this incident) don’t mention why this man was paralyzed, only that he was. Perhaps his paralysis was for some mundane reason, like falling off his own roof while repairing it, rather than for sleeping with his best friend’s wife.
Also, note the phrasing of today’s Gospel. It’s not a case of “your sins are forgiven, and therefore you are physically healed”, rather “look here, you doubting scribes, I have the power to work miracles, so who are you to doubt My authority to forgive sins?” Even Jesus isn’t equating this man’s sin with his paralysis!
✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞
That said, it’s certainly the case that sin can cause physical illness. For instance, rampant fornication dramatically increases the odds of contracting a venereal disease, and insomnia induced by the fear of being caught and tried for embezzlement would certain lead to all sorts of health issues.
Even so, repentance and forgiveness does almost nothing for VD; you’d still need to apply the appropriate medical solutions.
But it’s the insomniac example above that illustrates the universal cost of sin: it’s the knowledge of our wrongdoing that foists a mental burden on our shoulders, which in turn affects our physical well-being. The fear of being found out as adulterers affects in turn our ability to sleep soundly, which in turn may cause us to make a wrong move high up…while repairing the orphanage roof on our mission trip.
Clearly, doing good deeds may not protect us from the consequences of our earlier actions, nor are evildoers guaranteed to be punished for their sins on this earth. I believe even Buddhists and Hindus, to whom “karma” is more than just a vague synonym for “retribution”, understand it to refer to the consequences of current actions that would apply in future existences.
It is in this respect that we Christians sorta agree with them: what we do in this life will be judged in the next, so even though corrupt politicians and other evil personages in our lives may now be shielded from the effects of their actions, we can be assured that they will be called to account in the fullness of time.
✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞
During my irreverent period that wasn’t many years ago, I once concocted my own addition to the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the gong-gong (stupid), for they shall always be happy, not knowing that they have sinned.”
Oh, what an gong-gong fool I was!
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Your mercy. Amen.