Faith Qualified in Goodness!

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Amos 7:10-17; Mt 9:1-8

Today’s Gospel highlights the truth that where there is faith, there is goodness as well. 

We usually find three kinds of people around us: those who remain indifferent to the sufferings of others; those who sympathize with those who suffer but lack the goodwill to translate their sympathy into compassionate action; and those who are moved by compassion and do their part to alleviate the pain and suffering of the other. 

Jesus belongs to the third category of people. When a paralyzed man lying on a mat was brought to him, Jesus looked at ‘their faith’ and said to the man, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’ Here, the text underlines that Jesus healed the paralyzed man on account of the faith of those who brought him to Jesus. 

It is surprising to see that those nameless friends carried their paralyzed friend all the way to where Jesus was preaching. Though we are unsure if they did that at the request of their paralyzed friend or if they themselves were moved by their friend’s plight that they volunteered to bring him to Jesus, we are sure of the faith and goodness of the paralyzed man’s friends.

Though we cannot be sure if the paralyzed man’s friends had faith in Jesus, the text clearly describes that ‘Jesus saw their faith.’ Hence, where there is faith, there is goodness and empathy. Where there is faith, there is the real desire to alleviate the pain of one suffering. Where there is faith, it is always accompanied by goodwill that ensures transformative praxis.

Thus, in the Gospel, we find both Jesus and the nameless friends doing their part to alleviate the pain of the paralyzed man. While Jesus continues his mission of healing and restoration, those nameless friends show that faith is authentic when it qualifies itself in actions. The presence of faith in them brings out their goodness as well.

Let us pray that our faith in Jesus may always reveal itself in endless goodness. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar