SERMON/HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 12 JANUARY 2024
SERMON/HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II 12 JANUARY 2024 1Sam.8:4-7,10-22a; Ps.78; Mark 2:1-12 Be Grateful! In the gospel reading, we see the hostility of the Jews. They knew that God is able to forgive sins yet they found it blasphemous when Jesus said to the paralytic: “Your sins are forgiven”. They wondered how dare Jesus do or say that which only God has the prerogative. The thrust of the problem here was their lack of faith in Jesus as God. Today, we may not exactly have the challenge of accepting Jesus as God, but then, there still abound various forms of overfamiliarity with the persons and things of God in the attitude of some Christians. One sign of overfamiliarity is lack of appreciation. Although Jesus’ audience in today’s gospel left the vicinity amazed and glorifying God, we can imagine that the experience was not same for the Scribes. They were much more concerned about Jesus claiming authority to forgive sins. The moment we begin to see nothing s...