A Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

+ From our earliest years in the schoolyard, through our studies and in respect of any surprising news that comes to us we demand proof that this or that assertion is true: “Prove it!” we insist. We quickly learn that much must be taken on trust, relying on the research and evidence of others: it is impossible for every person himself to study every question or issue that arises, and it is perfectly good and reasonable to make use of the knowledge and wisdom that previous research has yielded. Even then, however, when strange or shocking phenomena confront us, we react by demanding proof.
 
Our Lord encountered this phenomenon often enough and, in the Holy Gospel of this Mass, He voluntarily counters the Scribes’ murmuring about His assertion that the sins of the paralytic have been forgiven with proof of His divine power with those famous words: “That you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, take up your bed and go home.”
 
It is interesting that this healing is the by-product of the Scribes’ incredulity. It was not asked for by the paralytic or by those who brought him. Rather, it is a gratuitous act bestowed on one whose faith and humility was evident to Our Lord. And it is an act which does not simply heal a long-standing disease, but one which gives glory to Almighty God and which leads others to faith in Him. The paralytic, it seems, moved by faith in Christ, sought the forgiveness of his sins. This was granted to him, as was much more as well.
 
Physical discomfort and illness arrive often enough and sooner or later our bodies succumb to the limitations of age or the degradation wrought by disease. Some must carry the cross of disabilities of mind or body throughout their lives, or for a large portion of them—as seemingly did the paralytic of this morning’s Holy Gospel. And rightly, in the face of such suffering, we turn to Almighty God in prayer asking for His healing and assistance.
 
In respect of this, however, we can learn much from this morning’s Holy Gospel. For in the face of suffering we are often a little too impatient for a miracle, stamping our feet as it were, as we “storm heaven” for this or that intention. It can be as if we decide the response to our prayers almost before we offer them!
 
Through His Gospel, however, Our Lord teaches us first and foremost to have faith in Him, and then to seek the forgiveness of our sins. This is what is necessary in the face of suffering and disability. Certainly we may hope and desire and pray and work for the physical and psychological healing of disease: ordinary miracles of medical science occur daily; extraordinary miracles are worked by Almighty God as and when He pleases, for His purposes (such as to rebuke the incredulity of the Scribes). But we must have faith in Him—faith that trusts that even the heaviest of crosses can be carried unto His glory and to our salvation; faith that does not stamp its foot like an impatient child demanding this or that, but that leads us humbly to confess our sins and to seek the mercy and forgiveness that we truly need.
 
In this respect it is instructive to remember that one of the principal effects of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction (the Anointing of the Sick) is the forgiveness of sins—when individual confession is not otherwise possible. Certainly, this much-neglected sacrament can also bring about the grace of healing, and many priests can attest to the miracles it has occasioned, but, as in this morning’s Gospel, that is not the primary end of the sacrament. Its purpose is primarily to unite the suffering person with the sufferings of Christ, cleansed of all their sins that they might have the grace and strength necessary to embrace the cross that has been laid upon them, if that is indeed God’s Holy Will.
 
For if we have faith in Christ, miracles do happen. Our sins—our terrible, disgusting and shameful sins!—can be forgiven. Indeed, they are forgiven in the Sacrament of Confession, no matter how many times we fall back into them, if only we have the humility and faith to do penance and to do what is necessary sincerely to try not to sin again. And the miracle of conversion happens: sinners do turn away from sin and become saints. It may take a lifetime, or a great deal of it, to reach the moment where we finally reject the devil and all his empty promises, but there is much rejoicing in heaven rejoices each time this occurs. (cf. Lk 15:7) So too, the miracle of “a good death” is worked around the world daily: ordinary men and women full of faith embrace the end of their lives without fear, but in the sure and certain hope of life eternal. These are the miracles to which we rightly aspire. And they are the proofs that Our Lord offers us in our own times so as to increase our faith in Him.
 
So too is the miracle of Christ’s self-sacrifice on the cross and His glorious resurrection from the dead: a miracle in which we are privileged to participate in each celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. As we do so again this morning let our prayer be that of the apostles: “Lord, increase our faith,” (Lk 17:5) or perhaps also that of the father of the boy cured by Our Lord: “I believe; help my unbelief.” (Mk 9:24) +