Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) ~ What it means to be a Christian

In honor of Black History Month, we invited Rev. Mr. Calvin Bailey, deacon at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, to be our guest homilist on this Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Is 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25
Ps 41:2-3, 4-5, 13-14
2 Cor 1:18-22
Mk 2:1-12

What does it mean to be a Christian? In order to answer that question, one must pose two others: The first is, do we really believe that Jesus is Lord? And if we do believe this, where is our faith in God?

When we look at Mark's Gospel, we see that Jesus has returned to his home in Capernaum. So many people have gathered there to hear him, that there is no longer room for any more. We don't know whether these people were believers or non-believers, or only curiousity seekers. But we do know that four or five of them DID believe, and they were not going to be detered by the difficult circumstances in which they found themselves. Even though their way was blocked, they went to great lengths so that their friend, the paralytic man, would be able to experience the presence of Jesus and perhaps, be healed.

These people were believers in the Lord and they had faith that Jesus would heal their friend. Their complete faith and trust in him is an example of what it means to be a Christian.

We ask ourselves why we go to church. Just because we attend Mass does not mean we are believers. If we are just following the crowd, we are the paralyzed ones. We are paralyzed by our lack of faith. What Jesus is looking for from us is to be "all-weather" Christians. Christians who have a deep faith and trust in God, no matter what is happening in their lives.

As we look back at the obstacles that Black Catholics had to face even in our churches, we see that the road was not easy for them. But we recognize that by their deep faith and trust in God, they were truly all-weather Catholics, who knew that eventually everything would be alright.

Our God is a faithful God, just as Paul tells the Corinthians in the second reading, who "has put his seal upon us and given the Spirit in our hearts..." (2 Cor 1:22)

Lord, heal my soul... We believe and trust in you.



~ Image: The Paralytic Man by James Tissot