The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to ponder the goodness and healing we have experienced and how we might share our blessings with others.
The reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah prophesies the Return of the Redeemed to Zion.
* [35:1–10] This chapter contains a number of themes similar to those in Deutero-Isaiah (chaps. 40–55), for example, the blossoming of the wilderness (vv. 1–2; cf. 41:18–19), which is now well-irrigated (v. 7; cf. 43:19–20); sight to the blind (vv. 5–6; cf. 42:7, 16); a highway in the wilderness (v. 8; cf. 41:3); and the return of the redeemed/ransomed to Zion (vv. 9–10; cf. 51:11). Nevertheless, it forms a unit with chap. 34 (see note on 34:1–35:10) and reflects, along with that chapter, themes found in chaps. 1–33. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 35 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 85 is a prayer for the Restoration of God’s Favour.
* [Psalm 85] A national lament reminding God of past favors and forgiveness (Ps 85:2–4) and begging for forgiveness and grace now (Ps 85:5–8). A speaker represents the people who wait humbly with open hearts (Ps 85:9–10): God will be active on their behalf (Ps 85:11–13). The situation suggests the conditions of Judea during the early postexilic period, the fifth century B.C.; the thoughts are similar to those of postexilic prophets (Hg 1:5–11; 2:6–9). (Psalms, PSALM 85 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus Heals a Paralytic.
* [5:19] Through the tiles: Luke has adapted the story found in Mark to his non-Palestinian audience by changing “opened up the roof” (Mk 2:4, a reference to Palestinian straw and clay roofs) to through the tiles, a detail that reflects the Hellenistic Greco-Roman house with tiled roof.
* [5:20] As for you, your sins are forgiven: literally, “O man, your sins are forgiven you.” The connection between the forgiveness of sins and the cure of the paralytic reflects the belief of first-century Palestine (based on the Old Testament: Ex 20:5; Dt 5:9) that sickness and infirmity are the result of sin, one’s own or that of one’s ancestors (see also Lk 13:2; Jn 5:14; 9:2). (Luke, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)
Suzanne Braddock comments that we all have a journey to make.
Pondering my journey in life, I realize it has had many different paths, yet all of them have ultimately led me to God, each in its unique way. Even the detours have taught me the direction better taken. But then I acknowledge that even those wandering side trips have taught me perhaps more and better than if I had stayed on “the holy way.” As I grow older, I see God’s hand in all I have done or has been done to me, and in all these I see what they all were- streams bursting forth in the desert, burning sands turned to pools.
I believe the optimism of Isaiah’s prophecies is real, not whistling in the wind. For all the evil we see in the world today, I believe there is even more goodness and love, God here with us. “Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy…..sorrow and mourning will flee.”
“Behold, our Savior will come; you need no longer fear.” Isaiah 35:4 (Braddock, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus heals spiritually and physically,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"When the Savior says to him, 'Man, your sins are forgiven you,' he addresses this to humankind in general. For those who believe in him, being healed of the diseases of the soul, will receive forgiveness of the sins which they formerly committed. He may also mean this: 'I must heal your soul before I heal your body. If this is not done, by obtaining strength to walk, you will only sin more. Even though you have not asked for this, I as God see the maladies of the soul which brought on you this disease.'"(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 12) (Schwager, 2023)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 5:17-26 comments that the power of the Lord was with Jesus as he healed body and mind. Jesus simply spoke, and the man stood up without hesitation. Both his body and his heart were set free. Years of suffering and pain were gone in an instant, and he couldn’t help but glorify God (Luke 5:25).
Jesus’ healing power is at work in you as you come to him in prayer for yourself or when you lay your loved ones at Jesus’ feet and ask for relief. It’s there as you trust that the Lord will bring freedom and peace.
Jesus’ power is with you today. So let his word stir your faith. Let him forgive your sins and heal you in both body and mind.
“Jesus, help me to trust in the power of the Lord that is with you as you walk with me today.” (Meditation on Luke 5:17-26, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that Isaiah 35 tells of a time when the kingdom of Israel will be restored after the destruction of the Assyrians. The vindication is resonant with the role of the goel in Hebrew tradition who will help you in need. The goel God will rescue us from everything that threatens us. Friar Jude notes that the people are filled with awe and wonder but the leaders did not celebrate the good fortune of the man.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces CAC staff member Mike Petrow who connects God’s plan for the universal healing of the world with the prophetic work we do. While prophecy is often defined as “speaking truth to power,” this is an incomplete notion, being merely social criticism. Prophecy is speaking truth to power on behalf of a divine vision of wholeness. This vision comes from contemplation and the love it reveals.
Tracing our alternative orthodoxy back to its roots in the prophetic tradition, we see that action and contemplation are, in fact, inseparable. They are the inhalation and exhalation of divine love. Contemplation calls us to active love. Our Jewish family identifies this as the tikkun olam, the fixing of the world. The early church termed it the apokatastasis, or the restoring of all things.
The Living School [and the CAC as a whole] teaches that this begins with us individually. If it is true that hurting people hurt people, then it must also be true that healing people heal people. Origen (185–254 CE) claimed the skandala—the scars and scandals in our lives—dig out the deep meaning. Our hurts become “health-bestowing wounds,” the source of our individual spiritual genius, which shapes the unique work we are called to do in the world. It’s our wounds that lead to wisdom and teach us, ultimately, how to love and heal the world. (Rohr, 2023)
We seek the inspiration of the Spirit to reveal the message of hope and peace for others that lies in our personal experience of God’s Favour.
References
Braddock, S. (2023, December 11). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 11, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/121123.html
Isaiah, CHAPTER 35 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 11, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/35?1
Luke, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 11, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/5?17
Meditation on Luke 5:17-26. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 11, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/12/11/846502/
Psalms, PSALM 85 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 11, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/85?9
Rohr, R. (2023, December 11). Love Now and Later — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 11, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/love-now-and-later/
Schwager, D. (2023, March 2). Your God Will Come and Save You. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved December 11, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=dec11
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