Sermon for the 19th Sunday after Trinity – Christ Forgives the Sins of the Paralytic

Sermon for the 19th Sunday after Trinity – Christ Forgives the Sins of the Paralytic

The Collect. 

O GOD, forasmuch as without thee we are not able to please thee; Mercifully grant that thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Gospel. St. Matthew 9:1-8

JESUS entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

The event described in today’s Gospel is also found in the Gospel according to Mark 2:1–12, which provides a fuller account of the healing of the paralytic.

The Evangelist Mark emphasizes that the friends of the paralyzed man lowered him through an opening in the roof of the house before Christ, so that He might heal him. A crowd stood in their way, preventing them from reaching Christ. How often do obstacles arise before us, persuading us that there is no solution, that we cannot find deliverance from our afflictions? Yet a solution always exists.

Because of the crowd, they could not enter the house. So they climbed the exterior stairs to the flat roof, removed the beams and straw, and lowered the sick man before Christ. This act is also a lesson for us: we too must rise above the obstacles, above the crowd. When we lift our hearts to the throne of God in prayer, the obstacles remain beneath us. That is why in the Eucharist we are called to “lift up our hearts.” As the Psalmist says, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1–2).

By doing this, they showed that they cared deeply for their friend, that they were willing to do whatever it took for him to be healed, and that they had faith in Christ’s power. In a certain sense, Christ here also teaches us about the importance of intercessory prayer. The paralyzed man was completely dependent on others. Although the Gospel does not explicitly say that his friends asked Christ to heal him, we can infer this from Christ’s reaction. Notice that Christ “saw their faith”—the faith of the four friends, not the faith of the paralyzed man himself. Christ often praised personal faith when healing the sick. To the blind man whose sight He restored, He said, “Thy faith hath saved thee” (Luke 18:42). He commended the faith of the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:28). But here, the Lord looks upon the faith of those who brought the paralyzed man to Him. This does not mean that the paralyzed man had no faith; faith was all he had left, for physicians could no longer help him. Yet the faith of his friends is deliberately highlighted. They actively helped him and interceded for his healing.

Here Christ also teaches us love for our neighbor, especially for those who, in some way, depend on us. How willing are we to help others through prayer? It is God’s will that we pray for one another, thereby bearing witness to mutual love. When someone is sick, the presbyters of the Church should be called to pray for the person. Such prayer, offered in faith, says James, will save the sick, and his sins will be forgiven (James 5:15). James also stresses that all Christians, not only priests, are called to pray for one another: “Pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16). It is not enough merely to pray; we must also help concretely those in need. The paralyzed man had four friends without whom he could never have reached Christ. Are we available to our neighbors when, for example, they need a priest to pray for them but cannot call or visit one themselves? Or when they cannot attend church, do we help them, perhaps by driving them to the service? There are countless ways in which we, too, can be people of faith for others.

Unlike Mark’s Gospel, which gives a detailed description of the event, the Evangelist Matthew emphasizes the forgiveness of sins. Christ did not first say to the paralytic, “Be healed,” but rather, “Thy sins be forgiven thee.”

Sin is a far more serious paralysis than physical paralysis. Sin deprives us of communion with God, strips us of the divine image in which we were created, and robs us of a dignified life on earth and of eternal life hereafter. Spiritually speaking, as St. John of Kronstadt says, we are all paralyzed. Christ came to heal us from this spiritual paralysis.

The scribes—the guardians and interpreters of the Law—who were present “said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Forgiveness of sins belongs to God’s authority. By taking upon Himself this divine authority to forgive sins, Christ clearly revealed His divinity. Through His works, Christ manifested Himself as God. The Jewish religious leaders perceived this as blasphemy. Yet Christ revealed to them another divine attribute: He read their thoughts. He made it known to them that He was aware of their inner reasoning and told them that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.

Here, for the first time, Christ calls Himself the Son of Man. The Evangelists refer to Him as Lord, Son of God, Son of David, and Savior—but the title “Son of Man” is used by Christ alone, and always in reference to Himself. By this title, Christ affirms that He is the Messiah and that, though of divine origin, He is also truly human. If He were merely a man, there would be no need to emphasize His humanity—it would be self-evident. But because He was more than a man, Christ calls Himself the Son of Man. He is God who became Emmanuel—God with us—in human flesh. He is both Son of God and Son of Man—the God-Man.

By using this title, Christ also places Himself within the context of the prophecy of Daniel:

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13–14).

He, whose dominion is everlasting and whose kingdom shall not be destroyed, thus declares to the scribes that He has authority to forgive sins.

After forgiving the paralytic’s sins, Christ heals him of his physical illness as well: “Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.” Christ gives priority to the man’s spiritual condition, and only afterward restores his body. This is the third confirmation of His divinity in today’s Gospel. After forgiving sins and discerning thoughts—showing that He knows the deepest secrets of the human heart—Christ reveals Himself as the One who has power to heal.

Our word healing (in Croatian iscjeljenje) implies that something broken becomes whole again. When Christ heals, He restores the entire person—spirit, soul, and body. The forgiveness of sins is a greater healing than the recovery of bodily health. We may die in perfect physical health, yet if our soul is not healed—if our sins are not forgiven, if through repentance we have not been reconciled to God—we will depart into eternity without Christ. On the other hand, we may die gravely ill, yet if our sins are forgiven, if we have made peace with God, if our soul is healed, then Christ awaits us in heavenly joy.

It is a fact that the root of many physical and psychological illnesses in modern man is the same as in the case of the paralytic—unforgiven sin. And such sins remain unforgiven not because God is unwilling to forgive, but because many do not seek His forgiveness through confession.

The healed man takes up his bed, as the Lord commanded, and goes to his home. Previously, the bed had power over him; now, after Christ’s healing, he is no longer dependent on it—he takes it into his own hands. He now masters what once mastered him. When the Lord sets us free, it means that we regain control over whatever once controlled us.

The healing of the paralytic caused amazement and glorification of God among the witnesses. In their midst, the Kingdom of God was made manifest. Christ was doing something new—something those present had never before seen or experienced. Do we recognize God’s work in our own lives, and do we give thanks to Him for all that He does for us?

The Christ of today’s Gospel is our Lord and God as well. Through repentance, the Lord heals us of our spiritual paralysis—our sin. Everything broken within us He can and will make whole again—healed. This healing is greater than any bodily healing. Then our life gains meaning and purpose. Then we can live the fullness of earthly life in wholeness and await the coming Kingdom of God. May the Lord help us in this. Amen.

More about the Reformed Episcopal Church in Croatia and Serbia can be found here.