1 July 2021
Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
We know well that there is more to everything than what catches the eye, that we are limited by our immediate perceptions. This is particularly true for people. Each one of us has a unique, sacred story that only God knows and understands in its fullness, stories which are marked by His love, but also by sin, pain and suffering as a result of our free will and the fall of our first parents.
Jesus in today’s gospel regards the paralytic man and sees the fullness of his story. He looks at him with love, but also sees the sin, pain and suffering in his life, and through his love and mercy, offers him a new life. Christ’s healing look of love is put into question by the bystanders, and so by giving the man the ability to walk again, Jesus demonstrates his healing power for all to see without a shadow of a doubt.
In our own lives, perhaps we can think of expressions of God’s healing love that are obvious and exterior and others that are more subtle and interior. What’s true is that healing and miracles always begin with a look of love. May we be the eyes of Christ to one another and view the world with the power of His healing love.