THURSDAY 30th JUNE 2022
Matthew 9, 1-8:
“Stand up, take up your mat and go home”.
Today we are witnessing one of Jesus’ miracles.
A paralytic is brought to him and Jesus, seeing their faith, lifts him to his feet.
But Jesus does not want him to let go of the stretcher. He even orders him to pick it up.
Many times we approach Jesus as we approach a pharmacy: we want him to take away all the “stretchers” that weigh us down and prevent us from walking as we would like to.
And Jesus certainly puts us on our feet. He heals everything in us that paralyses us. But he does not want us to abandon our “stretchers”, which are our jobs, our responsibilities, our occupations, our services, even our illnesses and defects.
We cannot let go of these “stretchers” because they are precisely the instruments that bring us closer to God and to others.
They will be heavy at times. But we must walk with them.
Take your “stretchers” with joy and walk with them behind Jesus.
Good day.
Antonio Sanjuan Cmf
