Daily Catholic Lectio. Fri, 16 January ‘26. Never Seen Anything Like This!

Daily Catholic Lectio

Fri, 16 January ‘26

First Week in Ordinary Time, Friday

1 Sam 8:4-7, 10-22. Mk 2:1-12

Never Seen Anything Like This!

In today’s Gospel, the crowd bursts out with wonder: “We have never seen anything like this!” Their amazement is born not only from a miracle of healing, but from a miracle of faith expressed in action. Four unnamed persons carry a paralysed man to Jesus. They face obstacles: a crowded house, no easy access, a roof to be broken open. Yet they do not withdraw. Compassion moves them, responsibility pushes them forward, and action completes their faith. Because they act, life changes.

Notice the contrast. Those who carry the paralysed man do not speak much; they act. Those who sit near Jesus—scribes and critics—do not act; they murmur. They question Jesus’ authority, they calculate, they judge in their hearts. Proximity to Jesus does not save them. Action born of faith does. The miracle happens not because many are present, but because a few take responsibility for another’s suffering.

The first reading shows a similar contrast. The elders of Israel reject the authority of the Lord and of Samuel and demand a king “like other nations.” Samuel patiently explains what such a king will do: take their sons, daughters, land, labour, and freedom. Yet the people insist. They choose visible power over faithful obedience, control over trust, structure over relationship. Unlike the four friends in the Gospel, they want solutions without conversion, security without responsibility.

The Gospel offers a different vision of authority and community. The four friends believe that something can be done, and therefore something must be done. Their compassion becomes concrete. They do not wait for ideal conditions. They do not ask whose responsibility it is. They act when action is needed. Scripture reminds us: “Whoever watches the wind will not sow, and whoever looks at the clouds will not reap” (Eccl 11:4). Waiting for perfect timing often becomes an excuse for inaction.

Two clear lessons emerge for us today.

First, miracles are born from actions, not intentions. Good thoughts alone do not heal communities. Faith that remains in the mind does not lift anyone. It is faith that moves hands and feet that opens roofs and hearts.

Second, we all have the capacity to do good for the community. The four friends are not priests, prophets, or leaders. They are ordinary people who refuse to be indifferent. Because they act together, a man walks again, sins are forgiven, and God’s mercy is revealed.

When faith becomes responsibility, and responsibility becomes action, the world begins to change. And then, like the people in the Gospel, others will say with wonder: “We have never seen anything like this!”

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy