Pick Up Your Mat and Walk!

Friday, January 17, 2025

Heb 4:1-5, 11; Mk 2:1-12

Today’s Gospel highlights the faith of the paralytic man and his friends. 

Though the healing narrative is of the paralytic man, he would not have reached the presence of Jesus if not for the help of his friends. 

Hence, the expression ‘their faith’ in v.5 would mean the faith of all five involved, and Jesus was impressed with the manifestation of their faith. 

The healing narrative is inspirational because it presents something unusual. The friends of the paralytic man demonstrate their unshakeable faith in Jesus when they break open the roof and let down their friend on the mat. 

Here we must know that it would be a lot harder for them to bring the paralytic man back up through the roof than lowering him down. 

In other words, even when his friends lowered the paralytic man on the mat, they strongly believed that they would not have to pull him up again through the roof. They were very sure that Jesus would heal their friend so that he would walk his way home, carrying his mat. 

The show of such strong faith is truly amazing that even the enemies of Jesus were won over. 

When the paralytic man was lowered down, no one recognized him. But in the end, he walks away in the sight of everyone. 

Those scribes who came in with doubts about Jesus’ ability to perform cures returned amazed. Whereas the man who came in with faith returned healed. 

The paralytic man and his friends teach us what happens to us in the presence of Jesus. If we are not healed by the presence of Jesus, nothing ever will. 

Let us pray for a deep faith to experience the healing presence of Jesus with us. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar