PRI Reflections on Scripture • 7-04-24 - Thursday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time

Finding God In Our Hearts with Msgr. Don Fischer

Gospel Matthew 9:1-8
After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town. And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven." At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, "Why do you harbor evil thoughts? 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 then said to the paralytic, "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home." He rose and went home. When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to men.
Reflection The fascinating thing about this story is how it equates being in the sense of sin. Feeling sin in you, paralyzes something in us, keeps us from becoming who we need to be. It's called shame and a lack of self-worth. Nothing is more essential to Jesus than we know his love, and his acceptance is always greater than any of our sins.
Please ponder this reflection and I'll close with the prayer.
Closing Prayer Father, you have created us in your own image. You are always seeing us as you created us in the beauty that you created. And sin, when we feel it inside of us, will rob us of that awareness of our goodness and keep us from becoming your servants. So bless us with a conviction that if we’re not believing in our own goodness, we cannot move around and create the kingdom of God. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.