July 04, Thursday - Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Amos 7: 10-17; Matthew 9:1-8
Jesus is back in Capernaum, and the healing episode narrated in the gospel happens in Capernaum.
Some people brought the paralytic: Some people appeared, bringing him a paralytic stretched out on a bed. We are not sure who are these some people. We can infer from the text that these people might have felt compassion for the paralytic and brought him to Jesus. We do not know if paralytic asked to be carried to Jesus. I do not think they are relatives or friends. These, ‘some people’ volunteered to help the suffering man. The goodness and faith of these ‘some people’ brought healing and forgiveness to the paralytic. Goodness breeds goodness – Jesus, seeing their faith, forgave him. There are many ‘some people’ in our life. They come and help us unasked, volunteer to support at a most unexpected time. Their words have encouraged us to move forward, their act of kindness whipped our tears, their presence instilled hope in us, and their smile brightened our day – we may not know who they are. Many such ‘some people’ come and go in our life journey.
Some scribes criticized: The goodness of some people is in direct contrast with the wickedness of the scribes. There are always some scribes in our lives who find fault in anything we do and say. They deliberately choose to magnify the negative and blur the positive.
The crowd praised: The crowd were astonished at the miracle performed by Jesus. They wondered at Jesus and were astonished at his authority to forgive sins. The crowd reacted to what they saw. They marvelled and praised Jesus. They neither appreciated the people who brought the paralytic nor questioned the wickedness of the scribes. The crowd came to see something extraordinary, and they saw it and went away unaffected. They were not part of what was going on. They were onlookers and not participants. They have no idea about the sacrifices made by the ‘some people’ who carried the paralytic, or suffering of the paralytic, the wickedness of the scribes and the predicament of Jesus. We come across such a ‘crowd of people’ in our lives. They praise us when we succeed and blame us when we falter. This is the crowd’s rationale. They are onlookers and not participants in our lives. Their reactions are not worth considering. They have no idea about our silent battles and unspoken dreams.
Jesus Sees: The entire episode is driven by the action of seeing (the Greek word ἰδὼν/ἰδόντες idon/idontes means seeing - acting upon what is seen is implied in this act of seeing). Jesus sees the faith of the people bringing the paralytic. Jesus sees the wickedness of the scribes. The crowd sees what Jesus did. When God sees our genuine efforts, he rewards us. Jesus is not an onlooker but an active participant in our lives.
Amos, a man of resilience: The first reading recounts how Amaziah blames Amos for conspiracy against Israel and forces him to flee away. Amos a man of resilience, never gave up. Faced the resistance, prophesied against Israel and remained faithful to Yahweh.
Our take away
1. Some people, some scribes, and the crowd are always part of our lives. We can not avoid them. Be grateful to them; they teach us something.
2. Who am I? Am I among the some people who carried the paralytic or some scribes or the crowd?
3. Do not miss a chance to be kind to someone. We never know the roles may change soon. We have a long way to go.
4. Jesus is not an onlooker but an active participant in our life.
Wilson SVD
Divine Word Missionary
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