How many of us live the way God intended for us to live? How often do we do what is easy instead of what is right? Do we even notice the slow death of our spiritual lives as we engage in sinful behavior?
Saint Paul was set apart, in his mothers womb, to proclaim Christ to the world. Yet as an adult he lived in exactly the opposite way. In his zeal for his ancestral traditions he persecuted the followers of Christ. His encounter with the Lord outside Damascus transformed his entire existence, restoring him to the person he was meant to be, the person God set him apart to be.
By raising the dead Jesus shows that He is the sovereign Lord of life and death. He does not use gestures or incantations, He merely commands the young man, “arise.” And as impressive as this was to the onlookers it is secondary to the power of Christ to restore us to spiritual life. Raising the dead and healing the sick are simply signs of the true miracle, freeing us from spiritual death caused by sin.
Which is easier to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Rise, pick up your mat, and walk?”
It is through the Lord, Jesus Christ that we find our true selves. If we are dissatisfied with our lives, or feel that something is lacking we need only turn to Him to find the person we were set apart to be.
Pax Vobiscum
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time