Dcn. Michael Schlaack offered these reflections on the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas
“Which is easier,” Jesus asks the scribes, “to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?” Forgiveness is one of those critical acts of Christianity that is often under appreciated. When we look at the world in an earthly perspective, forgiveness does not appear to have much worth. Like Jesus’ audience from today’s Gospel, we like to see tangible signs of God’s mercy. But we must never assume that benefits of forgiveness are reserved only for the heavenly realm
We began our Lenten journey with Forgiveness Sunday. This was the opportunity for each of us to ask for, and to give, the acknowledgement that we all sin, sometimes even unknowingly, against our brothers and sisters of the faith. To the request, “Forgive me,” we respond with “God forgives and so do I.” This puts into practice that basic act that is meant to distinguish Christians from the rest of the world, for Jesus taught us that unless we forgive the trespasses of other, our Heavenly Father will not forgive us. This links our salvation to the other person; that man or woman that you may not have given much thought about during most of the year.
But how do we know that the forgiveness that is being expressed is real? Does uttering the words, “God forgives and so do I,” possess some magical power that will automatically erase the hurt or injustice we may have caused to the other? For our forgiveness to be tangible, we must act like we are forgiving. What do we do to demonstrate to our brothers and sisters that we truly forgive them? What is the tangible proof that we have completely set aside the hurt, anger or injustice that needs to be forgiven? This was at the crux of the question that the scribes were posing in today’s Gospel. If only God can forgive sins, then how do we know that the sin is indeed forgiven, and what does that say about the person performing the forgiveness?
Faith is an important part of the forgiveness process, which provides the tangible evidence that we as humans require. St. James reminds us that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:14), and without any real evidence it is hard for us to see the fruits of forgiveness. When Jesus asked the question to His sceptics, “Which easier, to say to the paralytic ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?” He was demonstrating that forgiveness does indeed have a physical, earthly result. We do not know which sin the paralytic had committed or if the sin caused him to end up paralyzed, but we do know that everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), and therefore we all need to be forgiven, by God as well as by each other.
As Jesus demonstrates throughout the Gospels, forgiveness restores us to both physical and spiritualhealth. St. John records the healing of the sick man at the pool of Bethseda (John 5:1-16). After the healing, Jesus instructed the man, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you” (v. 16). It might seem hard to imagine what could be worse that being infirmed for 38 years, but Jesus points out that for us to receive total health, we need to avoid sinning. Thirty-eight years lying by the pool hoping for a chance to be cured will not be as bad as an eternity spent in hell because we never received forgiveness.
This, again, may be hard for us to understand when we are stuck in a world that is relies on our physical abilities to live and thrive. If even one of our senses is hindered, our life will become that much more difficult, thus making our health a focus of our lives. But our Christian faith asks us to put our physical wellbeing into its proper perspective. When Jesus taught that hard lesson of plucking out our eye or cutting off our hand or foot if either causes us to sin (Matt. 18:8,9), He was, of course, not meaning this literally but rather to help us put into perspective the importance of making our primary focus attaining a place in His heavenly kingdom. It is better to enter heaven maimed than to enter hell in one piece. Only by us each giving and receiving the forgiveness of God and each other will we be assured of an eternity with God.
As we can see, forgiveness takes a very practical form in our present world, but likewise, so does notforgiving. Living a life of hatred and animosity toward our neighbor will certainly take a physical and spiritual toll on us now, since we have already received judgement. Elder Sampson of Russia (1901-1979) probably said it best: “The drunkard, the fornicator, the proud—he will receive God’s mercy. But he who does not want to forgive, to excuse, to justify consciously, intentionally… that person closes himself to eternal life before God, and even more so in the present life. He is turned away and not heard.”
The act of forgiveness not only benefits us by removing the stain of sin, but it also unites us with God by us practicing a truly Godlike virtue. As we know, the goal of our life as Christians is to unite ourselves with God (theosis). Those who have attained advanced levels of holiness may able be to share in His energies, such as the “uncreated light.” This was the belief of St. Gregory Palmas and the reason for his fight to acknowledge the Christian tradition of full communion with God back in the mid-14th century, which is the reason we venerate and commemorate his holy memory today, the second Sunday of Great Lent, which is known as the second “Triumph of Orthodoxy.” St. Gregory’s defense of the ascetic practice of heyschism and the use of the “Jesus Prayer” to focus our thoughts and souls to God has taught us today that we, too can participate in the energies of God. The teachings of the opposition, led by Barlaam of Calabria (Italy), was declared heretical, and the Church acknowledged that God, unapproachable in His Essence, reveals Himself through His energies, which are directed towards the world and can be perceived, like the Light of Tabor, but which are neither material nor created. God is not a far-off, unapproachable deity as the scholastics taught, but rather He is a part of our daily existence, and we can be united with God through the participation in His energies, just as some of the ascetics experienced through their practice of unceasing prayer.
Developing a life of unceasing prayer is something all of us can and should strive for. It is our way of increasing our faith by spending more time with the God we love, turning our mental and spiritual efforts towards heaven and away from earthly things. Like forgiveness, it is a spiritual work that we should double in our effort during Great Lent.
Forgiveness can be seen as our lifeline, a critical step towards our sanctification. As Christ illustrates in today’s Gospel, forgiveness affects both the body and the soul. When we truly forgive someone of their trespasses, we are in a sense helping them to walk again. We are restoring them to health so that they can continue living their lives as whole people. Likewise, when we receive forgiveness for our sins, we are also restored, and can pass along the love we receive. Jesus taught that it is by the same measure that we forgive others that our Heavenly Father will also forgive us, so when we forgive, we can begin to live free of the handicap that kept us spiritually paralyzed. May we not spend another day lying by the pool, knowing that our healing is only a short distance away by forgiving and being forgiven.
