Overview:

Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

A Reflection for Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

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’?

Find today’s readings here.

Forgiveness, the kind that Jesus offers, is its own kind of miracle.

In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus performs an undeniable miracle: He grants a paralyzed person the ability to walk. But before he does that, he meets the man, brought to him on a stretcher by an eager group of community members, and declares that his sins are forgiven. Perhaps not what the stretcher-carriers were praying for when they put all their strength into carrying a paralyzed man into town.

But even that declaration is shocking (and unconvincing) to some listeners. When Jesus gets wind of this, he ups the ante. But before he proves his powers with a healing miracle, he asks a question to his detractors: “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?”

The implication is that declaring forgiveness is the easier alternative, and if he can cause the paralyzed man to regain use of his legs, then, well, forgiveness is more than possible. 

Who has the authority to forgive sins? Jesus’ naysayers bristle at the suggestion that he’s able to absolve the paralyzed man because absolution is an authority that belongs to God. It’s true that God’s power to forgive is unlike ours, but as I pray with these readings today, I’m struck by the thought that each of us can mimic divine forgiveness in small part when we extend grace to those who have sinned against us and caused us hurt. By that logic, it sounds like Jesus is quite right; forgiveness is easier than miraculous healing, for I can make an attempt at one and certainly not the other.

If we live our lives in an attempt to be like God, to be like Christ, forgiveness is one of the tasks we can take up. I can’t be God, but in the small ways I can be like God, I can offer the people around me some semblance of healing and peace. The same, of course, goes in the other direction; when the people I’ve hurt offer me forgiveness, they offer some piece of Christ’s love to me, too.

Molly Cahill is Associate Director of Digital Strategy at America. She was a 2020-2021 O'Hare Fellow.