Fast from Paralysis - Feast on Freedom

On this St. Benedict's Day let us ponder:
​Tending Weakness 

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Scripture
Luke 13: 10-13
There came before Jesus a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years.  She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.  When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.”  When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.
 
Luke 5: 18-26
While Jesus was preaching one day some people appeared, carrying on a bed a paralyzed man whom they were trying to bring in and lay down in front of him.  But as the crowd made it impossible to find a way of getting inside, they went up on to the flat roof and lowered him and his stretcher down through the tiles into the middle of the gathering, in front of Jesus.  Seeing their faith Jesus said, “My friend, your sins are forgiven you….I order you, get up, and pick up your mat and go home.”  Immediately before their very eyes he got up, picked up what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 

Poem for Reflection by Joyce Rupp 
                                         (from “The Star in My Heart”)
Inside each of us there awaits a wonder - full spirit of freedom
              She waits to dance
              in the rooms of our heart that are closed
                           dark and cluttered
              She waits to dance in the spaces
              where negative feelings have built barricades
and stock piled weapons
She waits to dance in the corners
where we still do not believe in our goodness
Inside each of us there awaits a wonder - full spirit of freedom
She will lift light feet and make glad songs within us
on the day we open the door of ego
and let the enemies stomp out. 

“I am sent forth into the morning with the poetry of possibility beating in my heart.” (Kent  Nerburn , “Small Graces”)
 
Paralysis is defined as the loss of the ability to move, a state of powerlessness or incapacity to act. We would not make the choice to be physically paralyzed, yet we do make many choices that keep us spiritually paralyzed. 
 
The “should’s , ought to’s, won’ts, can’ts, must’s” that drive us; the negative feelings and unhealthy tapes that play within us, can all render us unfree.  The struggle to be aware, the commitment to listen to what goes on in my spirit, can enable me to make choices that are not driven by my personal “unfreedoms.”   The Buddhists say:  “When anger finds you in the kitchen, don’t escort him to the dining room.  Just because your emotions rise up, doesn’t mean you have to follow.” 

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For your Reflection
1. To be paralyzed means to be unable to move.  Are there areas in your life where you feel paralyzed?  What is your unique paralysis?  What prevents you from moving freely?
 
2. What would it look like/feel like for you to be free? 
What would you be freed from?  What would you be   freed for?
 
3. It was the friends of the paralytic, their determination and courage, who occasioned the healing.  Who are the people in your life who support you, encourage you, move you toward the freedom to be?  Spend some time in gratitude for the gift they are in your life.
 
4. Imagine you are the bent over woman, unable to stand straight, able to see only a narrow frame of life.  What keeps you bent over, weighs you down?  Imagine Jesus’ hands on your shoulders lifting you up.  Stand before him, look into his eyes.  What does he say to you, and you to him? 

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​Action
What do you want to say to God about this?
 Make yourself a “Should Jar.”  Each time you hear yourself “shoulding on yourself” put a bead, or seed or some ‘counting’ object in the jar. At the end of the week, take stock.  A growing awareness of what motivates our choices can lead us to choose more freely.

Copyright © 2018 by Kathleen McNany, OSB
Benedictine Sisters of Baltimore, MD.