Mark 2:1-12

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days,

it became known that he was at home.

Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them,

not even around the door,

and he preached the word to them.

They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.

Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd,

they opened up the roof above him.

After they had broken through,

they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him,

“Child, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves,

“Why does this man speak that way?  He is blaspheming.

Who but God alone can forgive sins?”

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 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.

They were all astounded

and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Opening Prayer: Lord, I come before you asking you to reign in my heart and in the world. You taught me to pray: “Thy Kingdom come!” Your Kingdom is a mystery, a human and divine reality. It is unlike the kingdoms of this world that seek power and material wealth. It is a kingdom of justice, love, mercy, and peace.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Israel’s Request for a King: Samuel, the judge and prophet of Israel, was saddened by the people of Israel’s request for a king. On the one hand, he felt that Israel was rejecting his leadership. He eventually found out that the rejection was deeper and that it was a rejection of God’s royal authority. The people wanted a king to lead them into battle and to lead them to material prosperity. They wanted to be like the pagan nations and were rejecting their vocation to be a light to the other nations.

2. God’s Response to Israel’s Request: God tells Samuel to grant them their request. Samuel does so and tries to warn them how this future king will treat them. The king, he said, would conscript their sons to be his soldiers and workers, their daughters to serve at his banquets, and their land to increase his wealth. What Samuel said was that the king was going to fall into the threefold temptations of power, pleasure, and riches. In the end, the king would exploit the people for his own gain. 

2. How Jesus Reigns as King: In the days and weeks that follow, we will hear the stories of the kings of Israel and Judah. The majority of them will be wicked and lead the people into sin. Only a few kings, in particular, David, Hezekiah, and Josiah will be kings after God’s own heart. Despite their flaws and moral failings, they will place God at the center of their lives and the kingdom. Ultimately, God will transform the request of the people for a king and send his own Son to be our eternal king. Unlike his royal ancestors, Jesus will not exploit his people for his own gain. On the contrary, he gives of himself completely. He is the true servant leader who gives his life for his people. The people in the Gospel marvel at the authority Jesus manifests in the house of Capernaum. It is not the passing and temporal authority of a human king. It is divine authority communicated in his teaching and shown in his healing of the paralytic. Jesus reveals himself as the divine physician who possesses healing authority over sickness and merciful authority to forgive our sins.

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, you are my king and savior. You reign at God’s right hand because you offered your life in sacrifice. You gave of yourself completely and held nothing back to conquer evil, sin, and death. I want to share deeply in your life and give of myself completely.

Resolution: The readings today highlight two very different ways of being a king. At our baptism, we were anointed with the chrism oil as kings. We need to ask ourselves how we are acting as members of God’s royal family: Am I giving into temptation and exploiting others for my own benefit? Or am I giving myself fully in love and asking as a servant of the Lord?