Reflection for December 11, Monday of the Second Week of Advent: Luke 5:17-26

Gospel: 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:

Do you always ask Jesus to increase your faith? 

We all have our own set of sickness: physical and emotional sickness. Whatever sickness that we may have Jesus can cure it, all He ask from us is to have faith.  The same faith as the four men who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus and the paralyzed man himself.

Nothing is impossible for Jesus. He can make all things possible including the impossible! What He only asks from us is to have faith, faith that endures and faith that is willing to wait. 

The four men and the paralyzed man had that enduring faith. They braved the crowd and the difficulties before them so that they could go through Jesus. How many of us have that kind of faith and perseverance? 

We therefore must not forget to always ask the Good Lord to increase our faith for the simple reason that we are feeble and weak. In this difficult and tortuous jungle called life there are times that we tend to be overtaken by our own set of life challenges. Nevertheless, we have to have faith, move on, think  and hope that everything will be well soon.  

 Prayer:

O God, we ask you to increase our faith, we are weak and susceptible to the challenges of life. We know that you are always there for us ever ready to help us conquer those challenges. Give us the same faith of the four men who brought the paralytic to you. Give us the same, faith, patience and endurance of the paralytic as well. 

We ask this in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus. Amen. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas