Second Sunday of Great Lent: St. Gregory Palamas
Epistle Reading: St. Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews 1:10-14; 2:1-3
[To the Son, God says;] “IN THE BEGINNING, Thou, Lord, didst found the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of thy hands; they will perish, but thou remainest; they will all grow old like a garment, like a mantle thou wilt roll them up, and they will be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years will never end.” But to what angel has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet?” Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?
Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For if the message declared by angels was valid and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him.
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Why is St. Paul sharing these prophecies about Christ (i.e. the Jewish Messiah)?
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Why does He compare Christ to the angels?
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What is the “message declared by angels”? Why mention it at all? What is going on here?
Gospel Reading: St. Mark 2:1-12
At that time, Jesus entered Capernaum and it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak thus? It is a blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your pallet and walk? But 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, rise, take up your pallet and go home.” And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Questions for discussion:
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Why did the friends want to get their friend to Jesus? What else might they have done for him?
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Why was it so hard for the friends to get to Jesus with the paralytic? Why didn’t they give up trying? How was this man healed?
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Who are the heroes in this passage? How can we be like them?
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What kind of ailments do we have? How do we get well? How is the Church like a hospital?
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What is the relationship between spiritual sickness and physical sickness; i.e. can one affect the other? How?
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Can you share a story about someone who worked hard to help you in your spiritual journey?
Next Week: Veneration of the Holy Cross.
