HOMILY OF FRIDAY THE OF THE FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
R1:- Hebrew 4:1-5.11
PS:- 78:3 and 4bc.6c-7.8
Accl:- Luke 7:16
Gospel:- Mark 2:1-121
THEME: CONDITIONS FOR TRUE HEALING.
In today’s gospel, we see how four men carried a paralytic to Jesus through the roof of the house. Surprisingly, Jesus did not accuse them of the dent they caused on the building. He rather capitalised on their faith in his power to heal.
Moreover, the Lord demonstrated to them that he cannot only heal the body, but can equally heal the soul. He told the man who was paralysed, “Child, your sins are forgiven”. The scribes who were present at the scene were accusing him of blasphemy. In any case, he was not debar by the presence of these fault-finders. He simply used the opportunity to show those who trust in him that God has come to dwell with men.
Furthermore it was a belief among the Jews that sickness is caused by sins. According to them, sickness is a punishment inflicted by God on those who have sinned against him. Therefore, to be healed, God must forgive them.
However, to a great extent, sickness can be traced to human negligence. Many are dying today as a result of guilts. There are many sicknesses out there that are psychosomatic in nature. Some people are sick because of the kind of food or substances which they introduced to their body or because of wrong diet. Majority are sick as a result of social sins; by the negligence on the part of a government that refused to provide the basic amenities for her citizens. More so, many are sick as a result of wrong life style.
Evidently, we have realized these days, that many of our sicknesses can be prevented or managed by change of attitude. By our life styles, we often sin against humanity by doing the opposite of God’s command to our first parents, “increase and multiply and subdue the earth.”
Let it be known that life is sacred, life is precious. Let us repent of any kind of violence we have done to life. God is the Lord of all flesh. He is the only one who can truly restore us to health. Let us take to positive lifestyle. He will surely heal us and restore us back to health.
May we enjoy the healing mercy of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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