Did Peter have Primacy

Around this time of the year be look at the beginnings of the church. Unfortunately in our day unlike those first days after the resurrection there is great division about who is in charge of the Church. Is your local pastor in charge? Is it you? Or did our Lord set up certain men like Peter and the papacy to be a guide and rock of the church?

Let’s begin with Peter, did he have any special role to play in the early Church?

Certainly he did. I think to see his role though you have to do some digging. Sometimes we get caught up in the narrative and miss the details.

The first detail is from the Greek word Protos – which means first. We see a derivative of protos in the English word – prototype. A prototype of a car is an sample of a new kind of car.

We see this word protos – first, used in two ways though in Greek. It of course means first, yet it also has the meaning of best. The best, or chief. You can naturaly see why protos can mean first, best, or chief. Here are some examples from the Bible.

When the prodigal son returns the father says this:
Luke 15:22 "… 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him”
The word best here is protos.

When St. Paul lands on Matla it says this:
Acts 28:7 In the vicinity of that place were lands belonging to a man named Publius, the chief of the island. He welcomed us and received us cordially as his guests for three days.
The “chief of the island” The Greek uses the word protos to mean chief.

Now we come to Peter. Matthew says this:
Matthew 10:2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;

Now the significance of this is great. There are four lists of the apostles and Peter is always listed first and Judas 3 of the 4 times is always listed last. The 4th time being in Acts of the apostles after he had died so he wasn’t listed. They list Peter always first and Judas always last because Peter was chief and Judas was the betrayer.

Some might object and say that Peter is first because he was the first one to be called an apostle.

That is a possibility until you learn in the Gospel of John chapter one that Andrew was called by Christ before Peter, so that answers that objection.

Other verses suggest that Peter has primacy.

Peter is distinguished by others.

Tax collectors approach Peter alone:
Matthew 17:24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"

At the resurrection an angel says:
Mark 16:7 But go and tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.'"

Peter recognizes that Judas’ office should be filled by another. Acts 1
Acts 1:15 During those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers …

Peter gives the first sermon in Acts of the apostles.
Acts 2:14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, "You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.

Peter works the first miracle:
Acts 3:6 Peter said, "I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, (rise and) walk."

It is to Peter in Acts 10 that God reveals to Peter that Gentiles are to be baptized.

It is Peter in Acts 15 that says that Gentiles don’t have to be circumcised in order to be saved, but it is through grace.
I could go on, but I had better stop.

Now concerning Acts 15, some people claim that it isn’t Peter who makes the final decision but it is James, who speaks after Peter who makes the final decision.

That is a common objection and if we take a step back and look at what is happening, we get a clearer picture.

The issue in Acts 15 is this:
Acts 15:5 But some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers stood up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Mosaic law."

There was some debating because circumcision began with Abraham, is that a good thing to stop doing what God told Abraham to do?

So they hold a council in Jerusalem and there is a debate: Peter says that no we don’t need to circumcise people any more. That is the decision.

Paul and Barnabas then stand up and say how God has been working through the Gentiles.

James then says – Hey Peter is fulfilling the Scriptures from Amos 9 with that decree. We should tell the Gentiles though to stay away from practices that will trip up people like idolatry, and things associated with it.

Yet the big picture shows that Peter is the one who answered the question that Paul came to ask. Do Gentiles need to be circumcised – Peter says – Nope.

So to get back to our original question. Yes Peter had Primacy.

When Did The Millenium Begin?

When it comes to Bible interpretation, we have a lot in common with most non-Catholics. Yet there are those verses that are defining of our position to the exclusion to any other interpretation that do divide us. One such set of verses is in the Book of Revelation.

Today we are talking about the Millennium, which means 1000 years.
Revelation 20:1-3 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

The controversy is how we interpret those verses, when do they occur and are they literal?

There are two points here that I would like to raise.
#1 what is meant by 1000 years?
#2 When is Satan bound?


#1 what is meant by 1000 years? I think we must first keep in mind that the book of Revelation is highly symbolic. Next we see the number 1000 used in symbolic ways.
Psalm 50:10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
Do we ask the question, “Which thousand hills is that exactly?” No, because God owns all the cattle on all the hills. Here in the Psalm, 1000 just means – a lot. We believe that is means the same thing here in Rev 20:3

#2 When is Satan bound?Obviously Satan is bound at the beginning of the 1000 years, but do other scriptures talk about when this happens – They do:
Matthew 12:28-29 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
Luke 13:16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
John 12:31-33 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.

Here is my reasoning at least. Satan had the power to bind people. Jesus came and loosed those that Satan had bound (Luke 3:16). By the work of Jesus binding the Satan - the strong man (Matt 12:29) - Jesus was showing that this was evidence that the Kingdom of God had in fact come.

Just to reiterate; with the first coming of Christ we see Jesus’ kingdom inaugurated and at the same, Satan is cast out and bound.

There is another topic addressed in Revelation 20 that points us again to a first century fulfillment of the beginning of the 1000 years.

Revelation 20:4-6 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, … and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

So what is the first resurrection? When does that happen?

Notice first that it says that the saints reign with Christ for 1000. Now listen to St. Paul
Ephesians 2:5-6 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus…
- St. Paul here uses the past tense and links us reigning with Christ with his resurrection.

Here in Rev 20 St. John tells us that those who are a part of the first resurrection are priests, and they reign with Christ for the thousand years.
My question here “when is the first resurrection?”
Scripture suggests that the first resurrection is at our Baptism.
Romans 6:3-4 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Ephesians 2:1, 5-6 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins…even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,
Ephesians 5:14 For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you."
Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 2:12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

To pick up a point from earlier. Jesus associates the binding of Satan with the coming of the Kingdom (Luke 3:16, Mat 12:29). Further confirmation that the kingdom was established in Christ’s first coming is as follows:

Mark 1:14-15 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Luke 9:27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Luke 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;

In conclusion, seeing as how the kingdom was established with Jesus’ first coming the next logical question to ask then is- where is it? We believe that the Catholic Church is this Kingdom.

Children of Mary or Brothers of Jesus

I was recently invited to help a friend of a friend answer an objection about Mary's perpetual virginity. This person presented two main objections. The Bible says that Jesus had brothers and that brothers in the Greek language means 'from the same mother.' The second argument that he presents is that the Bible says that Joseph did not 'know' Mary UNTIL she had Jesus. He points out that Joseph then DID KNOW Mary after she had Jesus, that is what the word 'until' implies. We begin in the middle of his argument from the Hebrew about the word brother. #1 I would say that [objector] is slightly off when he talks about the Hebrew and Greek words. He says that “Genesis was written in Hebrew, not Greek.” It is true that it was originally written in Hebrew, but the Jews 200 B.C. translated it from Hebrew into Greek. Here is a great example Genesis 14:14 “And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive…” Abram’s brother here is Lot who is Abram’s nephew. Like James says the Hebrew word here is “ach” which can mean brother and all these other things: ‘ach’Hebrew 1. full brother (same father & mother) Gn 4:8 2. half-brother (different mothers) Gn 37:4 3. blood relative Gn 9:25, = cousin (male) 29:15 4. (without blood relationship) fellow 2S 1:26 5. fellow tribesman Gn 31:32 6. fellow-countryman Ex 2:11 7. in general, of belonging Jb 3029; in reciprocal expr.: °îš l®°¹µîw each to the other Gn 26:31 & the like 8. term of politeness to stranger Gn 29:4 9. in public, official dealings 1K 9:13 10. in song of mourning, hôy °¹µî Je 22:18. When the Jews who knew Hebrew translated this into Greek they chose the word adelphos which is the regular Greek word for brother, but it also has a wide range of meaning: Adelphos - Greek brother: litural. J 1:41; figurative. Mk 3:35; Phil 1:14. Fellow countryman or national Ro 9:3; neighbor Mt 5:22ff. Pl. brothers and sisters Lk 21:16; Eph 6:23. The problem is that the Jews had no word in Hebrew for cousin or uncle. So when James says “The common translation for the Greek "adelphos" was a brother. As in a sibling by the same mother. It was very rarely used to mean anything else.” That is a bit mistaken as seen above. Yet Greek DOES have words for different relatives. The question is, why didn’t they use them in for example Genesis 14:14? It is because they are taking their Hebrew culture and slapping the Greek language on top of it to make it fit. So we see this sometimes used in the New Testament times as well (see above) Acts 1:15-16 “And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) Men and brethren…” So who were the 120 brethren here? He just means countrymen as stated above. Something else significant is that St. Luke and St. Paul both use specific Greek words to refer to other relatives. But something to keep in mind is that they were both Masters of the Greek language. Relatively speaking their vocabularies are huge compared to the rest of the New Testament writers. Probably because St. Luke was a gentile and St. Paul was born and raised in a Roman colony. #2 [Objector] says that Matthew 1:25 “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” Saying that Mary did not have sexual relations with Joseph until Jesus was born, but then after she did. Yet scripture uses the Greek word “until” to have another meaning. It can have the first meaning but it can also mean “up to that point”. 2 Samuel 6:23 “Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto [GK until] the day of her death.” Does this mean that after her death she started having children? No 1 Timothy 4:13 “Till [until] I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” Does this mean that after St. Paul comes St. Timothy can then stop doing those things? No Both of these examples show that there can be a continuation of a matter previously stated. St. Matthew here is just stressing that St. Joseph didn’t have sex with Mary before Jesus was born. But it also is not implying that they did have sex after. #3 The main reason that we interpret those passages in Scripture that speak of Jesus’ brothers as cousins is because that is how the Church has always interpreted them. Yet Scripture has enough evidence to point us in the right direction. #4 If anything, these so-called brothers would have been half-brothers to Jesus because they did not have the same father. Jesus’ father was God The Father. #5 The Bible never calls the “brothers” of Jesus, the sons of Mary. #6 Jesus is always called ‘the’ son of Mary, never ‘a’ son of Mary. #7 When Jesus was left in the temple as a boy and Joseph and Mary go to find him, there is no record of brothers and sisters looking for him as well. #8 A devout Jew would have never left the care of his mother to anyone but his family, yet Jesus gives Mary to John (John 19:26, 27). #9 At the Annunciation while Mary is espoused to Joseph, the angel tells her that she is going to have a baby. Mary asks “how can this happen since I do not know man?” If Mary was about to get married wouldn’t it be common sense how she would have a baby? Unless of course, like tradition says that she had taken a vow of virginity. Then the question of breaking her vow would naturally be asked. Zechariah asked the same question and had his doubts because he and Elizabeth were old and he got punished. Mary is engaged to be married, asks a similar question yet doesn’t get punished. #10 A prophecy in Ezekiel 44:2 - And he said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut.” This is a prophecy about how God came to dwell with the people of Israel in the Old Testament beginning back in Ezekiel 43. Notice that when God came the first time to dwell there that the gate that he came through was shut, never to be opened again because God had passed through it. Well through what gate did God come through in the New Testament times to dwell with his people? Was it not through Mary? And because the Lord passed through her, who dare come after? #11 Finally, some of the ones that are called Jesus’ brothers are other places called the children of another Mary. John 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.(Jesus’ mom Mary) (Mary, wife of Cleophas) (Mary Magdalene) Matthew 27:61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. (Mary, wife of Cleophas) (Mary Magdalene) Matthew 28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. (Mary, wife of Cleophas) (Mary Magdalene) Matthew 27:56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children. (Mary Magdalene) (Mary, wife of Cleophas) (mother of Zebedee's children) -So Mary, wife of Cleophas, is also the mother of James and Joses. Mark 15:47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid. - (Mary Magdalene) (Mary, wife of Cleophas) Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. -We just saw that Mary, wife of Cleophas is the mother of James and Joses. Therefore when it calls them here Jesuss brothers, it certainly does not mean blood brothers.

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Overview and Themes in the Readings of Lent

This blog has been for the most part focused on digging deeper into scripture, yet on occasion we step back and look at the big picture. Today, let’s look at the big picture of the important readings that we will hear during Lent.

Beginning with Ash Wednesday, Joel 2calls us to Fast so that “the LORD will be stirred to concern for his land
and take pity on his people.
Why do these things? The Psalm 51 asks Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
St. Paul says We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made [Jesus] to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him… And not to receive the grace of God in vain.
Jesus then in Matthew 6 calls us again to Pray, Fast and Give Alms.

The first Sunday of Lent’s readings from Genesis chapters 2 and 3 tell us of our origins, “The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,
and so man became a living being.” God had given us His Holy Spirit.
Yet, our Parents tempted through the Devil saw that “the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.” They ate and lost the Holy Spirit and fellowship with God
Again Psalm 51 asks Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
St. Paul then reminds us “just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so, through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous.
In the Gospel, we find Jesus the New Adam according to St. Paul, not in a Paradise, but in a desert. He is not feasting, but fasting. The devil confronts Him there with the same threefold temptation that he tempted our parents with; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Jesus, our new Adam, is victorious.

The second Sunday of Lent’s readings are from Genesis chapter 12. We meet Abram, who is told by God to come out of where you live to a New Land that I will show you and I will bless you. He obeys.
Psalm 33 asks the Lord “Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.” We are called to trust the Lord like Abraham to go to this new Land where God is leading us.
St. Paul tells Timothy “He saved us and called us to a holy life” Holy means set apart. We are no longer supposed to live for this place , but for a New Place like Abram.
The Gospel then shows us Jesus on top of the mountain transfigured talking with Moses and Elijah. Why these two men, what did they talk about? St. Luke tells us in his Gospel.
Luke 9:31 [they] spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
This is the theme of Lent, the Exodus. Moses was a part of the first Exodus and Elijah, represents the prophets, calling us to the New Exodus that Jesus was going to accomplish at His death and this is the entire theme of this Sunday’s readings and Lent. We, like Abram and the Israelites, are called from how we live, to die with Christ and live a new and holy life as we travel to the heavenly promised land.

The third Sunday of Lent’s readings begin, now of course, in Exodus. The people get thirsty, but God tells Moses to “Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink.” This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel. The place was called Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled there and tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD in our midst or not?”
Now Psalm 95 harkens back to this event. Keep in mind that the people didn’t want to leave Egypt because this road to the promised land was hard. Here are parts of the Psalm: Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD; let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence (this answers the questions from earlier. Yes, he is in our(their) midst.) with thanksgiving;… Oh, that today you would hear his voice: “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, Where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.”
St. Paul speaks to the Romans about faith, hope and charity. The three things despaired of in the garden, and in the wilderness with Israel, but proven by Christ in the desert. St. Paul says that “hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Jesus as the water poured out of the rock, so the Holy Spirit has been poured into our hearts. This leads us to the Gospel.”
Continuing on with this theme in the Gospel of John, Jesus is talking with the Samaritan woman and says to her “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”… “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
This water is the Holy Spirit that has been poured into our hearts from Christ who, like the rock in the Desert was struck, and out came water and blood. It is the Holy Spirit that satisfies our thirst.

The fourth Sunday of Lent’s readings begin linking the Exodus theme from the Old Testament and then tying it to the New Exodus of Christ, namely His Death and Resurrection.
1Samuel talks about the anointing of David as young man and how David is ultimately taken from the fields of Israel as a shepherd and made by the grace and Holy Spirit of God, king over God’s people.
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
In the Psalm 23 brings to mind many of the themes we have heard thus far: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. There is the water theme again.
St. Paul then tells the Ephesians: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Harkening back to the psalm we just heard how God “leads us through the valley of death.”
The Gospel of John continues with St. Paul’s theme about light and darkness. We, like the man, were born blind spiritually, it wasn’t until Christ came and opened our eyes to the light that we can now see. Jesus says “Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

The fifth Sunday of Lent’s readings begin with Ezekiel proclaiming that I will open your graves and have you rise from them, I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land.” This points us to the Resurrection.
Psalm 130 reminds us that “The Lord will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.” This points us to the cross.
St. Paul tells the Romans “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.” See through the Death and Resurrection of Christ, the Holy Spirit has been restored now. We can go back to Eden.
The Gospel again brings us to John and the resurrection of Lazarus which prefigures Jesus’ own Resurrection from the dead.

So, Jesus is inaugurating a New Passover, a New Exodus, from death to Life, from in to Salvation. He is restoring the Holy Spirit that our Parents lost, so to bring us to the New Promised Land of Heaven.

The paralytic - and other points of view.

There are so many layers in Scripture. You can read a verse or whole story several times and each time find new insights in the text. Here are some layers inside the story of the healing of the paralytic.

Even by themselves there are so many stories in the Bible that are beautiful that alone they capture the world’s attention. Yet, put them back into the context from where they came, and they come alive all the more.

Today I want to look at the story of the paralytic that is healed with the help of his friends.

Mark 2:1-12 And when He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. And being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." But there were some of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?" And immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Arise, and take up your pallet and walk '? "But in order 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 in the sight of all; so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."

This would have been incredible to see. Imagine yourself as any one of the characters and this story teams with life.

As the man on the pallet, did he want to see Jesus? When he saw the crowds did he say, “maybe some other time?”

As one of the four men carrying their friend or relative, had they seeTn or just heard about Jesus and what he was able to do?

As the owner of the house, privileged to have such a man as Jesus choose your house to preach in and then to question why someone would be ripping apart the roof. Did he get mad?

This is one aspect to think about.

Doctrinally, this event is packed with information.

#1 The four friends are interceding for their friend. They are carrying him when he is not about to carry himself.
#2 It says Jesus saw their faith. While this may include the faith of the paralytic, it is certainly talking about the faith of the four friends. So on account of someone else’s faith, blessings are being bestowed on a third party.
#3 It says : “But there were some of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?" Notice it says, “in their hearts,” not out loud. Christ here is revealing His Divinity in three ways. First, He is claiming to be God by forgiving the man’s sins. Second, He is reading the hearts of those present.
Listen to what the Bible says about reading the heart:
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
Jeremiah 20:12 Yet, O LORD of hosts, Thou who dost test the righteous, Who seest the mind and the heart;
So Jesus is then proving himself to be God by saying, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?”
Then He proves that He has authority in and of Himself by saying, "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home." And he rose.
Jesus never says, “In the name of God, I say do these things,” or, “By the power of the Holy Name do I command you.” He just gives the command and it happens, like at Creation.
#4 See what St. Matthew adds in Matthew 9:8 But when the multitudes saw this, they were filled with awe, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Yes, God gave this authority to men, plural. What authority is that? Not just the authority to perform miracles, but also the authority to forgive sins.

Now on a moral level what does this have to do with me?

Are you the kind of person that would carry a friend to Jesus? What if there are obstacles, do you give up? What if a third party needs help bringing his friend to Jesus, are you willing to help?
Are you spiritually paralyzed? Do you need a doctor for your soul? Jesus is the Divine Physician and has given us a new heart in our Baptism, yet we need to have regular checkups and receive the medicine that keeps us healthy, namely the Eucharist. Ask some friends for help, if they say no, it is my opinion that you should get new friends! Spiritually, we were all paralyzed at one time. Our meetings are not anonymous though, they are public and we need to support each other every day on our road to recovery, called Heaven.

Finally, I heard a beautiful spiritual interpretation of this event.

The four friends are the four Gospels, and they carry us, who are paralyzed by sin, to Christ. Christ then forgives our sins so that we can walk with Him toward our Heavenly home.

Why We Honor The Saints

We have spoken on this show before of why we have statues of saints and angels in our churches. Yet we have never spoken of why we have those particular statues of those saints. Ultimately why do we honor saints?

We honor the saints because God honors the saints and they are worthy of our honor.
Now what do I mean when I say that God honors the saints? I mean that our whole religion is about having a relationship with God. It is a real relationship. It can grow in warmth and fire or grow cold and die.

God honors us by letting us be made in his image. That is one way he honors us. Another way is by stooping down to speak with us in our fallen state. Most of the time God responds in a still small voice, but other times it is with great pomp.

Let’s looks at the Joseph from the OT in Egypt. The Pharaoh has had a dream and no one can tell him the meaning except for Joseph.

Genesis 41:38-43 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?" So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. "You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you." And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See I have set you over all the land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and put the gold necklace around his neck. And he had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, "Bow the knee!" And he set him over all the land of Egypt.
Now hold on a second. Joseph tells him what the dream means and then gets to be second in command of the most power nation on earth at the time? Why is that? Why does he get so much honor?

I answer that Pharaoh is only honoring Joseph in such a way because he thinks that God is honoring Joseph in such a way. Seriously how many people can interpret someone else’s dream and be correct? We all speak to God, but here it is clear that Joseph has a special relationship with God where God in a very loud way speaks back. Pharaoh is just honoring that relationship. Not only that, but by honoring Joseph, he is honoring God as well.

Here is another example but more extreme. King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and it is important enough that he asks his own wise men to tell him the dream and the interpretation. They protest and say you tell us the dream and we tell you the interpretation. King Nebuchadnezzar say no you tell me the dream and the interpretation or you will be put to death! I imagine that they were saying to themselves – we didn’t learn this in wise man’s school.

Yet Daniel comes after some time in prayer and tells the king BOTH the dream and the interpretation. Here is how the King responds:

Daniel 2:46-48 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense. The king answered Daniel and said, "Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery." Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

Again, why such an intense response? I think it is because of Daniel’s association with God. This man is so close to God that God reveals to him the dreams of Kings AND their interpretation. I want to honor that relationship and so he does.

St. Paul tells us to do the same thing
1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

We know that some people get honor – God tells us in the fourth commandment to honor our father and mother. But Saint Paul tells us to give someone double honor.

This is exactly why we honor the saints. Because it is God who has made them saints. We are just recognizing His handy-work, and by honoring His work in them, we are honoring God.

Imagine a man who has dedicated his life to learning about Bach or Mozart but feared to listen to their music because they thought it would interrupt their studies of these men?
Or falling in love with a woman but refusing to meet her family and friends fearing it might interfere with your relationship with the woman?

None of this makes sense. The same is true when we refuse to honor those people that God has honored with His relationship with them namely the saints in heaven.

I call this elevation through association. The saints are elevated because of their relationship with God. They are elevated by both God and people who recognize their relationship.

This elevation through association is even natural. Let’s say that I had in my phone the actor Harrison Ford’s phone number. One day you are flipping through it and you say to me, “why in the world do you have his number in your phone.”

I explain we use to be neighbors and we see him on major holidays or something like that. Well automatically, your idea of me would change a bit. Because Harrison Ford is honored as a good actor, you would naturally look on me as honored too because of my relationship to him.

If I had the Pope’s phone number your idea of me would be raised even further because we give more honor to the Pope than to Harrison Ford.

This is elevation through association. The same is true with the saints. We honor them because of who they are associated with namely God.

Finally listen to what God told Abraham.

Genesis 12:3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

What if I honor Abraham today will I be blessed – Yes. Because ultimately I am honoring God and his work.

His greatest work being Our Lady who is certainly the most associated with God then anyone in creation. That is my we give her the most honor. But not worship. Only God gets that.