In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
In today’s Gospel, we hear the story of the healing of the paralytic. Christ grants him forgiveness of sins, which some of the scribes find scandalous, saying to themselves, “This man blasphemeth” (Matthew 9:3). Considering Christ as a mere man, they believed that as a human, He could not forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins. And whoever claims to forgive sins is, in a way, declaring, “I am God.” They regarded this as blasphemy because, in their view, a man cannot be God. Nowadays, we know that Christ was not just a mere man; in Him, human nature was united with the Divine, and while remaining a perfect God (not deprived of His Divinity in any way), He also became a perfect Man, fully like us, except sin. But at that time, even the scribes, who had dedicated their entire lives to God and the study of Holy Scriptures, could not comprehend this.
Why can only God forgive sins? After all, we are also commanded to forgive: “if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:15). Does it mean that a human can forgive sins too? Indeed, a human can forgive sins, but there is a significant difference between human forgiveness and God’s forgiveness. The point is that any sin is a sin against God, and only He can grant the sinner complete forgiveness. Therefore, if we sin against our neighbor, it is still a sin against God, who gave the commandment: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:39). Have you sinned against your neighbor? You have violated the commandment and thus sinned against God. And God says: Do not ask Me for forgiveness until you ask for forgiveness from your neighbor. But what if your neighbor does not forgive you? That does not matter. If you sincerely ask for forgiveness from them, this act of repentance will open the way to God for you. Your neighbor also has the commandment to forgive, and if they do not fulfill this commandment, it will be their sin before God. But you should focus on your own sin. Only after you wholeheartedly forgive your neighbor, will you receive complete forgiveness for your sins in Confession.
If someone has sinned against you, of course, you must forgive them. But you may ask, what is the meaning of this forgiveness if it does not grant the remission of sin? As we have said, only God grants forgiveness of sins. The meaning and purpose of this forgiveness lie within yourself. By forgiving others, especially our enemies, we restore the lost likeness to God. In other words, this forgiveness is primarily for ourselves. God created man in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). And in every person, there is the image of God, but we have lost the likeness. We have become similar not to God but to wild animals or even to demons, as sometimes there is so much anger, lust, and other unseemly things in a person. Therefore, God has given us this remedy – His holy commandments – so that we may restore our lost likeness. Christ grants complete healing, but only to those who accept the medicine.
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36). In other words, become like Him. This is our likeness that we have lost, in order to become like God. And for this, first and foremost, we need to learn to forgive. Because God knows how to forgive. And He forgives not only the paralytic we hear about in today’s Gospel but also all of us if we “forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12) and if we accept the given medicine with faith and hope in His mercy – by fulfilling His holy commandments. Amen.