Homily Notes | 2.19.2012 | English

SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, B

My brothers and sisters,

There are some things you cannot do. You cannot drive a car with only water in the gas tank. You cannot keep food cold and fresh in a refrigerator if you don’t plug it in. And no one can forgive sins on human authority alone. The Scribes who observed Jesus as he declared that sins were forgiven were quite right in their objection, “Who can forgive sins except God alone?” But they missed the point since they did not know the identity of Jesus. Because Jesus is divine, equal to his heavenly Father in all things, he could and did forgive sins on his own authority. He did so, however, in a human way. Jesus could very easily have forgiven the sins of the paralyzed man by a simple act of his will. Instead he looked with compassion on the paralytic and spoke powerful, but human words: “My son, your sins are forgiven.” In Jesus we see that the divine way was to take the human way. Jesus confirmed the power of his words by a miracle. Because the remission of sin is invisible, there was no test to the power of his words, but when he said to the paralytic: “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk again,” everyone turned to the paralytic to see whether Jesus’ words had actually had an effect. When the man stood, it was a sign for everyone that Jesus had not only cured the man with his words, but he had equally forgiven his sins with his words. In Jesus God was doing something new. Never before had anyone heard words of forgiveness like those of Jesus. His words and his power continue in the Church, because God’s divine way is still to take the human way. A priest does not forgive sins on his own. He needs “to be plugged” into the Church since according to the will of Christ forgiveness comes in and by means of the Church. That is why the words of absolution in the sacrament of penance include this important prayer: “Through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace.” Through the Church Jesus has freely chosen to carry on in a human way his divine mission of reconciliation. As Catholics one of our greatest gifts from God is the sacrament of penance. We are blessed to be able to hear a human voice express our forgiveness and to feel the reconciling touch of a human hand. When we couple this human experience with faith we too should be awestruck and give thanks and praise to God for such a generous and wonderful favor from our great, good, and merciful God.

Fr. Yves