Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord!

In today’s Gospel reading we heard how our Lord Jesus Christ returned from the country of the Gergesenes to His own city, that is, to Capernaum, and how He was met by certain people carrying one sick of the palsy, who hoped that the famous healer Jesus would grant health to their sick friend. It is not only Matthew that recalls these events, but also Mark and Luke, who add the interesting detail that the companions of the paralyzed man could not approach Christ because of the crowd. To attract the attention of the Lord and present the ailing man directly to the Wonderworker, they took apart the roof of the house in which Christ was teaching and lowered their friend through the hole. In such a way, the deep faith of not only the friends (which all three evangelists mention), but also of the man sick of the palsy was clearly made manifest. it is unlikely that the paralytic would have allowed his companions to drag him up to the roof of a house and then lower him, a completely helpless man, on some kind of ropes, to the feet of Jesus if he himself did not have fiery faith.

In today’s reading we saw three actions of Christ that underlined His love for mankind. First, the Lord forgave the sins of the paralyzed man. There can be nothing more wonderful a person can expect from God, because the blotting out of our sins opens to us a straightforward and easy path into the eternal Heavenly Kingdom. Second, Jesus Christ healed the bodily ailments of the man, gave him strength and the chance to spend the rest of his earthly days free from sickness. The third action of the Lord Jesus Christ was directed not at the paralytic, but at the scribes who doubted that Christ was from God and perhaps had already become His enemies. Despite this, He did not leave them without His attention, noticed that they were scandalized, and acted in such a way as to calm their doubts. So that they would believe that He is no simple man, but the Incarnate God who has power to forgive sins, Christ miraculously heals the paralytic, and, in such a way, gives them proof that they can and must have faith in Him as the Son of God.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, as you see, today’s Gospel excerpt clearly shows that the Lord God cares about the salvation of every person, from the most faithful to the one who is doubting. Let us not forget this when we find ourselves in difficult straits, when our faith begins to fail us. At such times, let us be more attentive so as to notice the action of Grace strengthening us, which God will, without a doubt, send down.

priest Alexis