Gospel in Art: Some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed

Book of Durrow, folio f.85 v Illuminated manuscript gospel book, circa 700 AD, ink, gold on vellum © Library of Trinity College, Dublin

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 2 July 2026
Matthew 9:1-8

At that time: Getting into a boat Jesus crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.' And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, 'This man is blaspheming.' But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, 'Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, "Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Rise and walk"? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins' - he then said to the paralytic - 'Rise, pick up your bed and go home.' And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Reflection on the Illumination Page

Many of the abilities we rely upon every day (walking, carrying, travelling from one place to another...) can easily be taken for granted until they are lost. When illness, injury or disability takes away those freedoms, we quickly discover how much we depend on the help of others. While such dependence is often associated with old age, it can come at any stage of life. The paralysed man in today's Gospel was likely not elderly. Yet he was entirely reliant on the care and kindness of others to bring him where he longed to go.

When news spread that Jesus had arrived, this man evidently wanted to be brought to Jesus. What is particularly moving is that he was not left to make that journey alone. A group of people took it upon themselves to carry him into the presence of the Lord. In many ways, this is a beautiful image of what the Church is called to be. Faith is never merely an individual pursuit. We help one another towards Christ. Sometimes we do so through words of encouragement, sometimes through prayer, sometimes through practical acts of care and support. None of us comes to the Lord entirely on our own.

The Gospel notes that Jesus saw "their faith", not only the faith of the paralysed man, but also the faith of those who carried him. That small detail reminds us how deeply interconnected our spiritual lives are. We draw strength from the witness, prayers and example of fellow believers. So maybe today's Gospel invites us to pause and give thanks for all those who have helped bring us closer to Christ throughout our lives. For many of us, that journey began with our parents presenting us for Baptism. Along the way there may have been teachers, priests, religious sisters and brothers, friends, mentors, or fellow parishioners whose faith quietly influenced our own. We pray for them today.

The intricate Celtic knotwork that fills our manuscript page provides a beautiful visual echo of today's Gospel. These endless interlacing patterns, with no obvious beginning or end, became a hallmark of early Insular Christian art. For the monks who created them, the knots were far more than decoration. They spoke of eternity (no beginning nor end of the lines), of God's unending presence, and of the mysterious interconnectedness of all creation in Him (represented as the middle circle on our page). Every strand is woven into another; no line exists in isolation. In much the same way, our lives of Christian faith are intertwined with each other.

The page we are looking at comes from the famous Book of Durrow, one of the earliest and most important illuminated Gospel manuscripts to survive from the early medieval Church. Created around AD 650-700, probably in a monastic community associated with Saint Columba, it predates the more famous Book of Kells by more than a century. The manuscript contains the four Gospels and is richly decorated with illuminated pages, featuring interlacing designs, and symbolic representations of the Evangelists. More than thirteen centuries after it was created, its intricate knots still proclaim a profound truth: faith is never lived alone, we are all bound together in Christ.

LINKS

Christian Art: https://christian.art/
Today's reading: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-9-1-8-2026/