Luke 5:17-26
One day
as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from
every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there, and the
power of the Lord was with him for healing. And some men brought on a stretcher
a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set him in his
presence. But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went
up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the
middle in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “As for you,
your sins are forgiven.”
Then the
scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves, “Who is this who speaks
blasphemies? Who but
God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in
reply, “What are you thinking in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your
sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the
Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”– he said to the one who was
paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He stood
up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home,
glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and,
struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.”
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Reflection:
How far
are you willing to go to help a person in need? We have in our gospel a
paralytic who was brought to Jesus by selfless men. Men who did not think of
their own safety so that they could help. Men who did everything so that they
could bring somebody to Jesus.
What if
there were no selfless men who dared to help the paralytic? The paralytic would
have remained paralytic for the rest of his life. But he was very blessed that
he encountered these men who help him go near Jesus.
When you
help someone in need you are opening yourself to enormous blessings from God.
This is what happened to the men who brought the paralytic to Jesus. They were
blessed by Jesus and was forgiven of their many sins (Luke 5:20).
As you
continue your journey in this world you will continue to encounter those who
are in need. Never let go of the opportunity to help be it material or
spiritual help. If it would require you to momentarily forget your own self so
that you could extend a helping hand, help by all means.
Every
effort that you do for others is always rewarded by Jesus. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
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