Why Are You Thinking Such Things

Why Are You Thinking Such Things

Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Let us be on our guard while the promise of entering into his rest remains, that none of you seem to have failed. For, in fact, we have received the Good News just as our ancestors did. But the word that they heard did not profit them, for they were not united in faith with those who listened. Hebrews 4:1-2

Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, "Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Mark 2:8

Piety

Jesus, you know what we are thinking every minute of every day. Send us the grace to soften our hearts to the plight of those around us. Help us to grant your special rest to those who have extraordinary physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Amen.

Study

This is certainly another Friday after the spirit of the Epiphany. Born in a town where there was no room for his parents, not even at a local inn, Jesus grows up to run out of room for all the people who are clamoring to get near him. Word of mouth advertising from earlier encounters when Jesus cured lepers, healed Peter’s mother-in-law and more, is certainly paying off. No sooner did Jesus get back to Capernaum, then, like the Three Kings, these people came from all over just to get near Jesus so they can see and hear and talk and witness to the miracles and signs he is performing. The more Jesus does, the more people want to see him.

Jesus may be the compassionate high priest, however, there is a price to be paid for his mercy. That price is obedience and service to the Word.  The warning in Hebrews about who will not enter the Promised Land (“entering into his rest”) are those who were not listening and acting upon the Word. The warning in that first reading applies to the scribes in the Gospel.

This cost is realized by giving up some individuality and free choice in exchange for the decision to follow, listen and act as Jesus preached rather than doing what we want to do. In the Hebrew Bible, this condemnation was a little easier to understand with the proverbial eleventh commandment: “You shall not do…what is right in [your] own sight.” (Deuteronomy 12:8).  You have to lose a little individuality to gain a lot of love.

You get a little more modern rendition in the song The Glory of Love recorded by artists from Dean Martin to Bette Midler.

You've got to win a little, lose a little,

yes, and always have the blues a little.

That's the story of, that's the glory of love.

The alternative is doing what is right in God’s eyes. As we read the Good News, who is doing right?  The men who refused to wait in line to get their friend to encounter Jesus?  They not only pushed ahead of everyone else in their zeal, but they cut a hole in their neighbor’s roof!  I would like to think the untold story is how the four friends repaired the roof along with the healed man.

Obviously, the way Jesus admonishes the scribes is proof that they were not doing right in God’s eyes. They were the generation which remains “wayward and rebellious.” 

Action

The Psalmist has us pray: Do not forget the works of the Lord!  Because our job is to listen to the Word and then carry on the works of the Lord.

Let’s not lose sight of the love-in-action as the helpers help the paralytic man overcome obstacles so he can have an encounter with Jesus. These helpers, “partners in Christ,” this Group Reunion performing Palanca for their friend stand in stark contrast to the skeptics (scribes) in the room who questioned why Jesus said he forgave sins and to the selfish people who would not make way for the least of their brothers.

While the promise of his rest remains, there is much work to do in the spiritual and in the temporal world before we can truly rest in his sight. As long as there are Jesus and us, we’ve got each other’s arms. That’s the story of, that the glory of love.