First Reading I Samuel 8:4-5.10-22 Gospel Mark 2:1-12

Yesterday, we saw that the sons of Eli were worthless. Today, we see that Samuel’s sons, also, are sinful. Samuel had led the Hebrews for many years as a prophet, but now he is old. The people petition him for a king. Samuel warns them that a king will oppress them. A king will take from their crops; he will enlist their young men for his armies; he will tax them. But the people insist on a king. Samuel says that a king is an affront to God, for only God is to be king of Israel. Elsewhere in the bible, we find a different viewpoint: Elsewhere we read that the king will rule in God’s name, that the king will secure justice and peace. The bible does not always solve all problems. The bible is a record of the experiences of a people with their God. Is a king good or bad? Behind the stories, the bible teaches us that the important thing is always to seek to live justly and according to God’s will. When we find apparent contradictions, let us look beyond to find the real message.
The gospel today tells of the cure of a paralyzed man. The Jews had a book which gave them the rules for keeping the laws of the Torah. It was called the “halakkah” which means “the way of walking” (meaning, walking God’s ways.) If a person is lame, he can’t walk. Symbolically, then, the paralyzed man is a sinner: he can’t walk (God’s ways.) Jesus forgives his sins: now he can walk (God’s ways as well as man’s). Bystanders are scandalized. Jesus says, “which is easier: to say you can walk God’s ways or to say you can walk man’s?” The cure of the paralyzed man is a sign of Jesus’ authority to forgive sin. And he gave this power to his Church. How often do you approach the Lord in this wonderful sacrament of his forgiveness?

Also St.Hilary (315-368 A.D.)
Hilary was bishop of Poitiers (France). He defended the doctrine of Christ’s divinity against great odds. He stood for truth even when it meant exile and suffering. He was tough on heresy, but soft on sinners. He tried to bring back to the true faith those who had strayed through ignorance.