NOTES for Mat 9:1-8
Today the evangelist Matthew tells us about the healing of the paralytic, which Mark and Luke also mention. Its essential feature, apparently, is the words that the Lord Jesus Christ says at that moment: "Take heart, child! Your sins are forgiven you." These words provoked sharp rejection from the scribes, but by the miracle itself the Lord confirmed His authority to forgive sins. For us, what matters most is the connection between suffering and sin.
The many healings performed by the Lord Jesus Christ by no means always imply that diseases and sufferings are caused by the person's own sins. It is enough to recall the healing of the man born blind. But for the paralytic, it is precisely God's forgiveness that becomes the source of healing. This means that the cause of his suffering is sin. This is important because, when we come into contact with suffering, we experience its irrationality and meaninglessness very painfully, and we rarely manage to remain on the boundary between bewilderment and complaint. Seeking an explanation, a person almost inevitably asks the question, "Why does God allow this?" But as we see, God did not create death and suffering, and it is not Him but ourselves whom we should blame for them.
In essence, it is separation from God as a result of sin that makes us subject to death. Therefore forgiveness becomes for us the gift of freedom and the restoration of what was lost. The Fathers of the Church constantly remind us of this.