Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Matthew 9: 1-8

After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
“This man is blaspheming.”
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
“Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins”–
he then said to the paralytic,
“Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

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I often use this Gospel passage while celebrating the Sacrament of Anointing as both a comfort and a challenge. 

It’s a comforting passage because there is a man who’s paralyzed, visibly in need of healing. So, his friends place him at the feet of Jesus, trusting in Christ’s power to heal. Seeing their faith, the Lord says to the paralyzed man, “Rise.” 

Suddenly, he stands up, takes his stretcher, and walks home.

It sounds impossible, but I’ve witnessed multiple stories like this in my own ministry. A person has cancer, double pneumonia, brain damage, or some other affliction. After being anointed, they were physically healed! 

Christ said to them through the Sacrament, “Rise and go home.”

While such healing isn’t common, these stories are reminders that Christ is present in the Sacraments. It’s he who speaks. He who heals. That’s undeniably a comfort.

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But this Gospel passage also presents a challenge. 

As human beings, it’s easy for us to focus on that which is physical. If a person is sick, then we want their body restored to health. But notice what the Lord says to the paralytic in the Gospel before his body is healed. 

“Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” To call this man a “child” means that he’s been welcomed into God’s family, an invitation that comes after his sins have been forgiven. 

This is what is of supreme importance in the mind of Jesus – the mind of God – not the healing of this man’s paralysis, but the state of his soul. Although his body was eventually committed to the earth, his soul endures into eternity.

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So, it is with us.

While the Lord can grant us anything we ask, this Gospel passage reminds us to “seek what is above,” to be concerned more about the state of our soul than the condition of our bodies. 

Eternal life with God is what endures forever. That’s the greatest miracle of all.

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Image credits: (1) Selah Home (2) Pauca Verba (3) HolyArt.com

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Gospel: Matthew 8:28-34

When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes,
two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him.
They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.
They cried out, “What have you to do with us, Son of God?
Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?”
Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding.
The demons pleaded with him,
“If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.”
And he said to them, “Go then!”
They came out and entered the swine,
and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea
where they drowned.
The swineherds ran away,
and when they came to the town they reported everything,
including what had happened to the demoniacs.
Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,
and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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From a Jewish perspective, this might be the most ritually impure scene in all of the Gospels.

There are demons, dead bodies, and pigs, all present in Gentile territory, the sworn enemies of the Jews.

Why would Jesus lead his followers into such a dark and filthy place?

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In that Gentile cemetery – the land of the dead – Jesus even impresses his disciples as he reveals his love for those possessed by evil.

While the Jews held an exclusive idea of God – he belonged only to the ritually pure and legally obedient, Jesus reveals himself to be the Good Shepherd, who seeks to save all of his creation, even the “untouchables.”

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So, what might this mean to us?

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Like those men imprisoned in the cemetery, there may be parts of ourselves – memories, decisions, sins that still cling to us – which we try hiding from others. Yet the Lord has already made his way there, into those sensitive areas, with one purpose:

To remind us that we cannot hide. That we are loved unconditionally. And that it is his ardent desire to set us free.

As the Psalmist proclaims, “Where can I go from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee? If I ascend to the heavens, you are there. If I lie down in the darkness, you are there. Darkness isn’t dark for you” (Psalm 139: 7-8). 

Unlike the villagers in today’s Gospel, who begged the Lord to leave their town, may we embrace Jesus for who he is – light in the darkness, a Good Shepherd who comes to save us, even from the shadowy places of life.

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Image credits: (1) Bible Hub (2) Mercy for the Outcast, Millenial Journal (3) At the Gates of Hell, Fra Angelico

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Gospel: Matthew 8: 23-27

As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
“Lord, save us!  We are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There’s a riddle we all learned as children: 

“Why did the chicken cross the road?” 

“To get to the other side.”

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It seems stunning in its simplicity, yet it’s the same dynamic we see unfolding in today’s Gospel. Why did Jesus tell his disciples to get into the boat?

To get to the other side. 

They don’t know this yet, but once they land, Jesus will begin preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles for the very first time, which is why he’s taking his rest while he can. 

Meanwhile, the disciples are terrified of forces they cannot control – the wind, the sea, the waves – so much so that they awaken a sleeping Jesus, crying out, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

In Mark’s account of this story, Peter goes so far as to ask incredulously, “Do you not care that we are drowning?” As if Jesus is some absent-minded or cruel Lord.

Frustrated, Jesus gets up, rubs his eyes, and rebukes the wicked storm as he wonders why his disciples are still so weak in their faith. The Lord would never allow his friends to suffer without reason or to be overcome by nature.

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I’m sure we’ve all felt like the disciples before. We’ve had that sinking feeling in our stomach like we’re going to drown – not necessarily in water, but in debt, temptation, fear, anxiety, or stress.

In those moments, we can expend a tremendous amount of energy unnecessarily staggering across the boat, as it were, crying out to the Lord. Meanwhile, the real “test” is on the other shore.

If we use this Gospel story as a model for our faith, then the invitation is not to panic when the flood waters rise, but to rest. Curl up next to a sleeping Jesus, “whom even the winds and the sea obey.”

Save your energy for whatever is on the other side, trusting God is already there.

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Image credits: (1) The Storm at Sea, Rembrandt (2) Adobe Stock (3) Debbie McDaniel