The readings today are interesting: they are about working and resting: working for God, and then resting from that work in God. This is the pattern that God the Father / Creator himself established "in the beginning." It took him five days to create the universe as we know it, all as an amazing backdrop and spectacular environment to house his greatest of all creation: humankind that he created on the sixth day! Male and female he created them; in his image and likeness he created them! THEN ON THE SEVENTH DAY HE RESTED! Rest, then, is the rewarding part of the cycle of one week's worth of activity. It was so for God; it is meant to be so for us!
When we – his highest form of creation – (and even moreso, now, especially because the Only Begotten Son of God became also one of us human creations) engage ourselves in the activities of our weekly cycles, we must remember to "enter into the rest of the Lord," often, but especially on the Lord's Day! Sunday! Without this day of resting, regrouping, recharging of our spiritual batteries, resharpening of our spiritual focus and acuity it is very easy to become dull, unfocused, weary, burdened and burned out! American society has done itself a great disservice by virtually making Sunday like any other day of the week!
Those who listen to God and his invitation to rest will find themselves always renewed; those who don't condemn themselves to a life of unnecessary struggles and trials.
In the gospel passage today we see Jesus "at work" preaching, teaching and healing. As we recall these early days in his public ministry we see him now going one step further than he did before: he first proclaimed the presence of God's Kingdom on earth in a fuller way (in himself); then he accompanied it by signs of miraculous healings of people with various conditions and diseases; today he takes this one step beyond by announcing his ability to forgive sin (in association with his ability to heal – for forgiveness of sin is a true healing of sorts: the best and most significant kind of healing!) And so he tells the paralytic in the Gospel passage to stand up, pick up his mat and go home! And the paralytic did it! And all were astounded when they saw this and glorified God: for they knew that no one other than God could have done this: no one else other than God can indeed forgive sin: Jesus must truly be someone very special who could even forgive sin on behalf of God!
The full story of this would unfold for them in the next three years!
Today let it suffice for us to believe in the power of Jesus to do his work of preaching, teaching, healing and forgiving sin. And let us notice that after events like this Jesus usually goes away by himself to rest and to pray and glorify and thank his Father. After we do what God asks us to do each day – helping Jesus proclaim his message, assisting others any way we can and offering healing as we are directed by him – we too ought to go by ourselves to rest and to pray and to glorify and thank His Father, and ours!
Do not forget the works of the Lord!
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