7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel text for today: Mark 2:1-12).

Today’s gospel asks of us the question: who can forgive sins? Sadly, too may people agree with the scribes in limiting the forgiveness of sins to God. God does, of course, forgive sins; but is God the only one to do that? Do we believe in a God who wants to hoard the practice of forgiveness? If we believe that the forgiveness of sins is God’s exclusive right, it lets us off the hook about bothering to forgive those who have sinned against us.

For Jesus, forgiveness is not the exclusive right of God; it is the shared duty of all who would follow him. For Jesus, forgiveness is the most profound healing a person can experience, yet is easier to effect than the healing of the body. We know from our own experience how people can remain disfigured and paralysed in spirit when they live without forgiveness.

God has an impeccable track record on forgiveness. How’s our’s?