Isaiah 35 : 1-10
Luke 5 : 17-26
The Communists took over power in China in 1949.
They set up the state-controlled Church, and anyone who resisted was thrown into prison.
Bishop Ignatius Kung of Shanghai was one of those who resisted.
He was imprisoned for 30 years before being released at 83 years old and in poor health. He died in March 2000.
Bishop Ignatius Kung spent one third of his life in prison.
His suffering was a true experience of an exile - he was separated from the people he loved, from the ministry which he was ordained for, and from the life he loved.
In fact, all human suffering is a form of exile - it separates us from what and from who we love.
In the 1st reading, the prophet Isaiah talked about God bringing His people back from exile, to restore them to the promised land, to save those from being lost.
That was what Jesus did for the paralyzed man.
That is also what Jesus wants to do for us when we feel that we are walking through some kind of wilderness and desolation, or going through some kind of exile.
The Lord wants to heal us with His word and with His touch.
He wants us to experience love and forgiveness and to have true freedom.
Bishop Ignatius Kung was imprisoned for 30 years, but the Lord gave him strength for his weary hands and trembling knees.
The Lord gave him courage to hope for the coming of the Lord who will save him.
May we too be courageous and keep hoping in our Lord who will come to save us and grant us freedom.