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The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (9:1-8)
Our Lord Jesus Christ was in a boat, traveling. Once He reached His destination, which we are told was “His own city.” We are then told that people came to him seeking healing for one of their own who was a paralytic. This means that the person who came to the Lord was carried there by others since he himself was paralyzed. This selfless act required great love. It is not easy to carry someone for a long distance even if they are being carried by 4 others. It really requires an act of love and great faith. The people did not necessarily believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God. But they believed that He was a great prophet whom God was using in a powerful way. So we should be quite impressed and humbled by the faith of these people to carry their beloved to Christ. We who are here believe that Jesus is the Son of God but perhaps our actions don’t demonstrate this deep kind of faith that we hear about today.
As soon as the Lord looked upon this paralyzed man and looked upon the faith of those who brought Him, He immediately said to the man “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” Have more beautiful words ever been uttered? The Lord knew everything about this sick man. He knew everything including his worst moments, his failings and his sins. The Lord knew all of the things that this man probably tried to hide from the rest of the world. And here we see a true demonstration of the love and mercy of God towards mankind. Our Lord knew all of these things and He still took compassion upon this man. Its one thing when someone loves you but doesn’t know the worst things about you or your deepest and darkest moments. It is something else, when they know those things and love you all the more. We find that Our Lord Jesus loved the man and He comforts him saying “Take heart”.
If you spend precious quiet time with the Lord, in prayer, you will be surprised that the Lord will often come to you (rather, you will sense His presence) and He speak quietly into our hearts and say “Take heart, my son.” “Take heart, my daughter.” “Have courage, be at peace, I am with you always.” Just as the Lord knew the troubles that this man had faced in his life, He also knows each of us intimately. He knows every aspect of our lives. He understands you even when you think that no one else understands you. He knows you intimately because He created you and He dwells in you through baptism and Holy Communion. And even when you aren’t quiet and don’t listen for the voice of the Lord, you can still be greatly encouraged through the study of the gospels and by reading and praying the psalms. The psalms are the prayer book of the Church. They are filled with words of comfort that increase our faith. In fact it is the psalmist who writes, “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you.” Ps 55:22 Bring all of your troubles to God in prayer. Pour them out and leave them at the feet of Christ, who alone has the strength to carry them.
After the Lord said “take heart,” he continues saying, “my son”. God looks at us as His sons and daughters, with extreme love for us. Even the one who grew up as an orphan can know and feel like they are part of a glorious family through this intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, who sees in us not merely a follower, but His very child, His son or daughter.
Now we come to the words that are most important of all, “Your sins are forgiven.” We are reminded that God created the universe by the power of His Word. He said “let their be light” and it was so. Christ Himself is the Word of God. By the word of the Word, all things are done and accomplished. So He created the universe by His word and He recreates each of us by His word. He offers us healing and reunites our faculties, our bodies, souls and minds. He takes away the great burdens that weigh us down. These powerful words help to refashion men and to turn them from broken sinners into sane, whole, and saintly human beings who are truly growing in the likeness of God. Nothing is a greater burden in our lives then our own sins. They often haunt us and we wonder whether or not we can ever be free of them and of the damage that our sins cause. Most importantly we wonder if we can ever have a restored relationship with God and have the peace that comes through communion with Him. But my brothers and sisters, everything is possible in Christ. Because Christ became a man, took flesh and was crucified in order to open the doors of the kingdom to us through the forgiveness of our sins.
“By the Cross, the Son of God having become man, accomplished our salvation. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross (Phil. 2:8). Having stretched out His hands upon the Cross, the Savior with them, as it were, embraced the world, and by His blood shed on it, like a king with red ink, He signed the forgiveness of the human race.” -St. John Maximovitch
Now this very same gift of forgiveness is offered through the Holy Priesthood as it was instituted by Our Lord Himself who said to the disciples “Receive the Holy Spirit, those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven, and those whose sins you retain, they are retained.” Jn 20:23 This gift is received through repentance and the sacrament of Confession. It transforms and heal us.
How often should one confess? It depends. In most cases, it will be about 4 times a year. Of course, some people will need to confess more often based on their personal struggles or if they happen to fall into serious sins. Yet others may confess more often because their conscience is troubling them. But in general you should speak with your priest about this. The sacrament is not magic. We shouldn’t take it for granted and misuse it. But we do need heartfelt repentance before we come so that Christ can truly unburden our souls and heal us. He wants this for us because He hates sin and He hates to see us paralyzed or destroyed by sin.
St. Nikolai Velimirovich writes, “The Lord is mighty and willing. No one, except Him, is able to cleanse the soul of man from sin and, by cleansing, to whiten it…..our soul cannot become white, no matter how often we cleanse it by our own effort and labor even with the help of all legal means of the law until we, at last, bring it beneath the feet of God, spread out and opened wide so that the light of God illumines it and whitens it.”
For those who come with courage and with humility they will also hear the comforting and life giving words of Christ “Take heart my child, your sins are forgiven.” AMEN.
