By: By Tim Irwin

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb. 19

Isaiah 43:18-19,21-22,24b-25; Psalm 41:2-3,4-5,13-14; 2 Corinthians 1:18-22; Mark 2:1-12

All golfers know the value of a mulligan. It offers the repentant the chance to redo an errant shot without having to count the mistake. No golfer actually deserves a mulligan; it’s given not earned. Such is Isaiah’s message in the first reading for the Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time. God will save the children of Israel not because they have earned it, but because of His boundless mercy.

In the second reading, St. Paul writes to the Church at Corinth to explain the changes in his travel plans, which seems to have aggravated some of the Corinthians. Paul anticipates that his detractors will use their aggravation to claim that he lacks sincerity and constancy. Paul, never known to shy away from controversy, takes the offensive.

He tells the Corinthians not to confuse the “yes” and “no” concerning his schedule with the force and fidelity of his preaching. As far as the change in plans, Paul tells the Corinthians in the verses just before this week’s reading that he will doubly favor them by visiting twice instead of once. He sounds Irish.

In the Gospel, Jesus returns home to Capernaum. The news travels fast and the locals pack the house in hopes of benefiting from this miracle man’s astonishing deeds. As has been the case throughout this section of Mark, the crowds have an agenda of their own. They have not shown up in hopes of experiencing a conversion; they want a problem solved. This single-minded pursuit of a better life in the here and now leads four men to literally raise the roof in order to place a paralytic man before Christ.

REPENT AND REDO
Just as Isaiah said, God does not act because of our worthiness, but because of His boundless mercy. Jesus sees their faith in Him as a miracle worker and redirects it toward faith in Him as the Messiah.

Sin, not paralysis, is the more serious problem. He says to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven.” One of the Pharisees reacts negatively. Jesus responds, “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk?’ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins –He said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.’ And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this.'”

These readings remind us to stay focused on the kingdom of God. Here we will find the happiness that we crave. The way to reach kingdom is to repent and seek the forgiveness for our sins through Christ and His sacraments. It’s not the perceived insult caused by redone travel plans or even the life altering impact of paralysis that will keep us from eternal happiness. Sin blocks our entry into the kingdom of God.

The Lord knows that we all need a spiritual mulligan now and again. When we participate in the sacraments we are accepting Christ’s invitation to repent and redo.

It may be tempting to coast through this life without ever focusing on the kingdom of God. Nobody likes to face their sins, but that’s the first step for all who seek the kingdom. In facing our sins, we will discover or rediscover the boundless mercy of God and experience here and now some small taste of the kingdom of God.

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TIM IRWIN teaches at Peoria Notre Dame High School where he chairs the Theology Department. He is a member of St. Mark’s Parish in Peoria.