WEBVTT 00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:04.620 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 00:00:04.620 --> 00:00:10.019 of the Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ. When 00:00:10.019 --> 00:00:15.320 I was a child, I was very healthy for the most 00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:19.440 part. But as happens to most of us, there were 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:23.800 times when I would get sick. And my mother would 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:27.699 take me to the doctor, and he would diagnose 00:00:27.699 --> 00:00:31.839 the problem. and I would be prescribed medicine 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:37.000 to take. And on one such occasion, I remember, 00:00:37.179 --> 00:00:44.799 the medicine was a liquid, and it tasted ghastly 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:50.100 and horrible. And the dosage was not just a teaspoon, 00:00:50.340 --> 00:00:57.079 but a tablespoon. And I remember my mom holding 00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:03.399 up that spoon, and my mouth staying closed. And, 00:01:03.500 --> 00:01:06.439 of course, over time, she talked me into taking 00:01:06.439 --> 00:01:09.920 my medicine, and I opened my mouth, and I swallowed 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:14.819 it, and thanks be to God, I got better. Sometimes 00:01:14.819 --> 00:01:19.340 we can resist the medicine that will help bring 00:01:19.340 --> 00:01:25.609 us healing. What about you this Lent? We have 00:01:25.609 --> 00:01:30.049 reached the second Sunday of Lent now. God is 00:01:30.049 --> 00:01:34.890 the doctor who has diagnosed sin as the illness, 00:01:35.170 --> 00:01:38.950 all the passions just being variants of that 00:01:38.950 --> 00:01:43.349 sin. In my analogy, the church is your mother 00:01:43.349 --> 00:01:48.469 and is offering you medicine for your soul. Have 00:01:48.469 --> 00:01:52.439 you been taking your medicine? Or perhaps like 00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:57.640 me in my childhood story, you are resisting the 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:03.040 Lenten remedies that are given to us. Today's 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:08.460 Gospel reading from Mark 2, 1 -12 is about the 00:02:08.460 --> 00:02:13.800 healing of the paralytic. Jesus was preaching 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:18.409 to a crowd at Capernaum and four men. carried 00:02:18.409 --> 00:02:22.710 this paralyzed man to Jesus. And when the crowds 00:02:22.710 --> 00:02:26.009 made it difficult, they took off a portion of 00:02:26.009 --> 00:02:31.469 the roof and lowered him down to Jesus. They 00:02:31.469 --> 00:02:36.610 came to Jesus with faith. And Jesus, seeing this, 00:02:36.669 --> 00:02:42.949 said, Son, your sins are forgiven you. And when 00:02:42.949 --> 00:02:47.710 those without faith questioned him, Jesus replied, 00:02:48.169 --> 00:02:52.610 that you might know that the Son of Man has power 00:02:52.610 --> 00:02:57.229 on earth to forgive sins. And he said to the 00:02:57.229 --> 00:03:01.590 paralytic, I say to you, arise, take up your 00:03:01.590 --> 00:03:05.729 bed and go to your house. And that paralytic 00:03:05.729 --> 00:03:10.050 was healed and immediately took up his bed and 00:03:10.050 --> 00:03:16.280 walked. He came to Jesus with faith. He was forgiven 00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:23.120 his sins and he walked. Imagine the joy in his 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:28.840 heart. He is our example. We are to have faith 00:03:28.840 --> 00:03:34.139 in God. We are to receive forgiveness from God. 00:03:34.860 --> 00:03:40.159 And then we are to walk with God. The Orthodox 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:43.979 Study Bible in the footnotes on this passage 00:03:43.979 --> 00:03:49.900 today. says this, this passage read on the second 00:03:49.900 --> 00:03:53.780 Sunday of Lent in the Orthodox Church has a three 00:03:53.780 --> 00:03:57.840 -fold symbolism relating to our preparation for 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:03.500 Easter. One, we must come to Christ in faith 00:04:03.500 --> 00:04:07.400 and let him heal us of our spiritual paralysis. 00:04:08.259 --> 00:04:13.039 Two, we should let nothing deter us from getting 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:16.970 to Christ. who alone can heal us, both in body 00:04:16.970 --> 00:04:22.689 and in soul. And three, we must help each other 00:04:22.689 --> 00:04:28.649 come to Christ. As a child, I didn't want to 00:04:28.649 --> 00:04:32.850 take my medicine. I resisted it, yet my mom helped 00:04:32.850 --> 00:04:36.649 me to understand that I needed it, and eventually 00:04:36.649 --> 00:04:40.689 I opened my mouth and endured it to my benefit 00:04:40.689 --> 00:04:45.069 and healing. You need to take your medicine. 00:04:46.029 --> 00:04:49.910 This second Sunday of Lent is St. Gregory Palamas 00:04:49.910 --> 00:04:53.490 Sunday. Thus, it seems right to hear from him 00:04:53.490 --> 00:04:58.230 from his own homily on this passage. St. Gregory 00:04:58.230 --> 00:05:05.170 says this. The bed, that is of the paralytic, 00:05:05.350 --> 00:05:10.329 is to be understood as the body to which the 00:05:10.329 --> 00:05:15.610 mind which pursues fleshly desires, clings, and 00:05:15.610 --> 00:05:19.290 through which it applies itself to sinful actions. 00:05:20.449 --> 00:05:25.470 After being healed, our mind has our body under 00:05:25.470 --> 00:05:30.589 control and leads and carries it about. Through 00:05:30.589 --> 00:05:34.850 it, our mind brings to light the fruits and works 00:05:34.850 --> 00:05:39.269 of repentance so that all who see them glorify 00:05:39.269 --> 00:05:45.319 God. Do you have faith? Demonstrate it by picking 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:50.240 up your bed, by taking your medicine. Fasting 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:53.819 helps us learn how to grow beyond the passions 00:05:53.819 --> 00:05:58.220 and teaches us self -control so that we can walk 00:05:58.220 --> 00:06:01.399 with God and be free from sin so that we can 00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:06.779 be healed from our own spiritual paralysis. One 00:06:06.779 --> 00:06:12.379 last thing. Don't let what you cannot do keep 00:06:12.379 --> 00:06:18.980 you from doing what you can do. Don't let what 00:06:18.980 --> 00:06:23.800 you cannot do keep you from doing what you can 00:06:23.800 --> 00:06:28.180 do. For medical reasons or perhaps our own weakness 00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:32.660 or life situations, there may be things that 00:06:32.660 --> 00:06:36.980 you cannot do. And sometimes we use this as an 00:06:36.980 --> 00:06:41.639 excuse. to do nothing. Instead, determine what 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:47.040 you can do and then do it. Exercise faith. Pick 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:51.339 up your bed. You can do it by looking to God 00:06:51.339 --> 00:06:54.600 with faith and he will give you the strength. 00:06:55.540 --> 00:06:59.620 It is God's desire to heal us, to sanctify us, 00:06:59.819 --> 00:07:04.459 to cleanse us, to make us whole. He has given 00:07:04.459 --> 00:07:09.079 us the gift of salvation. the way of peace, the 00:07:09.079 --> 00:07:13.980 hope of eternal life. May we all determine to 00:07:13.980 --> 00:07:16.600 take our medicine. Glory to Jesus Christ.