Overcoming Spiritual Paralysis

There are a number accounts of Jesus healing paralytics in the Gospels.  In St Matthew 9: 1- 8 we read of such a healing.  This miracle takes place after he casts our demons from two men in the region of the Gadarenes (St Matthew 8: 28 – 34).  Our Lord crosses the water and comes to his own city, being Capernaum (St Matthew 9: 1).  We then have this passage set for the day’s Gospel:

And behold, they brought to him a paralytic placed upon a cot.  And seeing their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take courage, child, your sins are forgiven you.  And behold, certain scribes said among themselves, “This is blasphemy!”  And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why do you think such evil in your hearts?  For what is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’:  or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’  But, in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority upon earth to forgive  sins — then he says to the paralytic — “After you get up, take up your cot, and go to your home.”  And after he got up he went to his home.  Now, the crowd seeing this marveled, and they glorified God who gave such authority to men (St Matthew 9: 2 – 8).

Now I want to move from physical paralysis to the subject of a more common paralysis:  spiritual paralysis.  Here, one must also get up from a figurative cot, or sick bed, and then move into the life of faith, and acts of faith.  This is the praxsis of faith.

What are the causes of a spiritual (or even a psychological) paralysis?  The causes are numerous, but allow me to list a few.  Could it be guilt?  Fear?  Regret?  the experience of a rejection?  A sense of worthlessness or unworthiness (no one is worthy — God acts through us in spite of us)?  Could it be a habitual sin?  Is it doubt of ability or  a lack of “credentials?” —  “Who am I to attempt to do that?”  Any of these can result in confusion, or indecisiveness, and we are “crippled.”  Then we have a spiritual paralysis which keeps us on the sick bed and out of action.  In such a state one is like the foolish servant who hid his master’s talent.  He made no use of it and received his master’s severe rebuke and loss of what he had (see St Matthew 25: 24 – 28).

We are all in some state of spiritual paralysis because we are sinners.  We are in the hospital of the Church and Christ is our physician.  But whatever our degree of such paralysis might be, we are to take to heart the words of our Lord as quoted above:  “Take courage, child, your sins are forgiven you…After you get up, take up you cot, and go to your home.”  Or we could say, “Get on with it!”

Perhaps this is too easy to state.  We all have our personal histories which have produced memories that persist in our minds.  Unpleasant and painful memories exist for all of us.  A recollection from past history can be a source of torment.  But, we must ask, “Where does the past exist?”  It exists only in one place:  in our minds!

Elder Thaddeus

Thus, we must order our thoughts and memories.  They must be sorted and controlled.  We are to take seriously this snippet of prayer from the Prayer of the Hours:  “…Set aright our minds; cleanse our thoughts.”  It needs to be stated that each one of us is the captain of our consciousness:  we control our thoughts.  Our monastic brothers and sisters will agree with that statement.  Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnika wrote these words for our instruction:

Our life depends on the kind of thoughts we nurture.  If our thoughts are peaceful, calm, meek, and kind, then that is what our life is like.  If our attention is turned to the circumstances in which we live, we are drawn into a whirlpool of thoughts and can have neither peace nor tranquility.

When thoughts and memories that hinder and cripple us come into our minds — catch them and throw them away.  Then, replace them with prayer (especially the Jesus Prayer), words from the Scriptures, and words of blessing.  On top of this, we can throw away the disturbing thought and replace it by thinking of a task that needs to be done.  To whatever we turn our minds, we are to be mindful of these words of St Paul:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Philippians 4: 8).

With all of this stated, let’s consider again these words of Jesus:

After you get up take up your cot and go to your home.  And after he got up he departed to his home (St Matthew 9: 6 – 7).

The paralytic got on with his life now forgiven, whole, and complete.  And so we are to act and begin our praxsis.  We are to exercise the spiritual gifts given to us for the benefit of one another.  St Paul encourages us with these words from the day’s appointed epistle reading:

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them:  if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.  Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor.  Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord.  Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.  Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality (Romans 12: 6 – 13).

We are to act as God has gifted us.  Furthermore, we are to understand who and what we are in Christ:  We are “…to be a holy priesthood…” (1 Peter 2: 5).  A priest bears God to all of creation by holy words and actions, and bears all creation to God by prayer.  I offer one of my favorite axioms:  “To become, we must do.”  If we “get on with it” and act as the holy priest — the saint — we are to be, our efforts will be worked into us by the Holy Spirit.

Additionally, I offer another axiom:  To prove God is to live God; to live God is to prove God.  In other words, by acting according to the Faith, by living out the Faith before all and all things we make God evident in our lives and to others.

By overcoming spiritual paralysis, and by expressing our gifts through action, we can become a cause of marvel to all by the working of Christ within us.

The following is a corresponding sermon given 7/20/25 at St Brendan’s Orthodox Mission, Astoria, Oregon:

In Christ,

Fr Irenaeus