Bible Reading February 19
Reading 1 Is 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25
Remember not the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not;
see, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the desert I make a way,
in the wasteland, rivers.
The people I formed for myself,
that they might announce my praise.
Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob,
for you grew weary of me, O Israel.
You burdened me with your sins,
and wearied me with your crimes.
It is I, I, who wipe out,
for my own sake, your offenses;
your sins I remember no more.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 41:2-3, 4-5, 13-14
Blessed is the one who has regard for the lowly and the poor;
in the day of misfortune the LORD will deliver him.
The LORD will keep and preserve him;
and make him blessed on earth,
and not give him over to the will of his enemies.
R. Lord, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.
The LORD will help him on his sickbed,
he will take away all his ailment when he is ill.
Once I said, “O LORD, have pity on me;
heal me, though I have sinned against you.”
R. Lord, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.
But because of my integrity you sustain me
and let me stand before you forever.
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from all eternity. Amen. Amen.
R. Lord, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.
Reading 2 2 Cor 1:18-22
As God is faithful,
our word to you is not “yes” and “no.”
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
who was proclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me,
was not “yes” and “no, ” but “yes” has been in him.
For however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him;
therefore, the Amen from us also goes through him to God for glory.
But the one who gives us security with you in Christ
and who anointed us is God;
he has also put his seal upon us
and given the Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.
Gospel Mk 2:1-12
When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days,
it became known that he was at home.
Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them,
not even around the door,
and he preached the word to them.
They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd,
they opened up the roof above him.
After they had broken through,
they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Child, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves,
“Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming.
Who but God alone can forgive sins?”
Jesus immediately knew in his mind
what they were thinking to themselves,
so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk?’
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”
-he said to the paralytic,
“I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”
He rose, picked up his mat at once,
and went away in the sight of everyone.
They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
Catholic Fundamentalism Interpretation:
The Loving Programmer tells us very specifically that we are not to consider earlier downloads. He is downloading a New Program. He’s doing it through people He’s chosen so that they might tell the other human programs what He has done.
The human programs He chose ignored Him. He does not seem to care. He is going to make a New Download that will fix all the errors the earlier human downloads chose to make.
Loving Programmer, erase the errors in my soul, for I have sinned against You.
The Loving Programmer provides Programming Assistance for those who provide it for those less fortunate than themselves. When things go badly, the Loving Programmer will help those human programs, and keep them safe from viruses.
The Loving Programmer will restore good human programs when they’re sick. To get that Assistance, we must admit to The Loving Programmer that we have corrupted our programs with errors.
If we tell the truth, The Loving Programmer will sustain us, and let our human program be close to Him, The Loving Programmer, forever. Blessed be The Loving Programmer Who first showed His favor to His chosen.
Fellow believers, it is not enough to say “yes”. We must be “yes” when it comes to believing in The Loving Programmer, The Program, and The Holy Wireless Connector. We who become “yes” will be sealed with Him forever.
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, crowds gathered. Some wanted to watch. Others wanted to be healed. Soon, the crowd grew so large that no one could get into the house. A paralyzed man was carried by four friends. Since they couldn’t get through, they got him up on the roof, made a hole, and lowered him to Jesus.
When Jesus saw the paralytic, He said, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”
Some of the scribes were there. They were nosy and looking for reasons to demean Jesus. “Why does This Man speak this way. He is blaspheming.” One can imagine how utterly self-righteous they were.
Jesus knew their motives, and asked, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ or to tell him to ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk?’
“So that you may know that I have the programming power, granted me by The Loving Programmer, to forgive sins here”, He turned and said to the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat and go home.”
He did so as everyone watched, in awe at having seen Jesus’s programming power and the hostility toward Him evinced by the scribes.
Today’s Bible Reading February 19 was brought to you by Catholic Fundamentalism
