Some teachers of the law said within themselves, “This man insults God.” Jesus was aware of what they
were thinking;and said, “Why have you such evil thoughts?Which is easier to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven’or
‘Stand up and walk’? But that you may know, that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,”he said
to the paralyzed man, “Stand up! Take your stretcher and go home!” The man got up, and went home.When
the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe, and praised God for giving such power to human beings.

Reflection:

Humanly speaking, it is far easier to say, “get lost” than say “I forgive you” to our enemies. If forgiving came that
easily,how different our world would have been, and how free of wars and weapons! But it is also evident that for
Jesus, forgiveness came so easy that often the words of forgiveness were what flowed from him even at the hardest
of times, a son the cross. Thankfully, it is this gift of the “ease of forgiving” that Jesus has offered to every follower as
grace and command. The mission entrusted to us is to “preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations”
(cf. Lk 24:47). We honor the first martyrs of the Church of Rome:what stands out for Christian martyrs, starting from
St. Stephen, is the ease with which they forgive the offenders. Perhaps this is the true test of our Christian discipleship:
the ease with which we can forgive those who offend us.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2022