Outward Signs of Inward Grace

Gospel Reflection for Friday, January 12th, 2024

Christ Healing the Paralytic, Wikipedia

In today’s Gospel, we hear the familiar story of the paralytic who is brought to Christ, laying on his mat, to be healed. They were so desperate to reach Our Lord that they broke through the roof of the house He was staying in to get around the crowds. This action impresses Our Lord:

“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven.’” Mark 2:5

At this, the scribes who were in attendance began to be angered and accused Him of blasphemy since only God could forgive sins. To their credit, they are correct about one thing, God can forgive sins but what they failed to see was that God was standing right in front of them. To this charge, Our Lord responds:

“Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins on earth”–he said to the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.” He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone.” Mark 2:8-12

Two things are happening here. The first and more apparent is that Christ is manifesting His divinity in two ways. The first is through Him knowing what is in the hearts of the scribes. Only God knows the inner heart and Christ calls them out for what is in their hearts. The second manifestation is in the forgiveness of sins. Christ heals this man and in doing so, proves that his sins are forgiven. But why is this?

The answer leads to the second act which Christ is doing. In the Jewish faith at the time, the Jews interpreted physical ailments to be the result of sin. This can be seen most explicitly in the Gospel of John when Christ and His apostles encounter the man born blind and His apostles ask whether it was the man’s sins or his parent’s sins that caused his blindness.¹ This was a common belief for the Jews at the time. This is why, in many of the healings that Our Lord performs, there is a forgiveness of sins attached to it. Through the healings that Our Lord performs, we can see outward signs of inward grace.

These healings foreshadow the Sacraments of the New Law. In each of the Sacraments, there is an outward sign, which can be perceived by man’s senses, which points to an inward grace, which sanctifies the soul of the receiver. It is through our senses that we can come to know what is happening. For example, when we hear the words of absolution during confession, it signifies to us that the mercy of God is flowing out upon us, and we are being forgiven of our sins. The words are the outward sign which points to the deeper reality of the grace of forgiveness. In the same way, the people gathered around Christ in this Gospel passage saw a paralyzed man rise and walk when Christ forgave his sins. For both audiences, the ones present for the miracle, and the ones reading the Gospel, Christ communicates to us the way we need as humans so that we can see the grace that is working in our souls.  

1. Cf. John 9