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SERMON
Fishing boats bobbed gently in the sapphire waters, or lay belly-up
along the rocky shore-line. The hot Mediterranean sun beat upon the
dusty streets of the tiny town. To the north the creaking of harnesses
and the cries of teamsters spoke of the arrival of a donkey caravan at
the local customs house. Here Rome would be sure to get one last round
of taxes before the load of salted fish, dates and olives made its way
eastward up the Via Maris, the Sea Road, toward Damascus to be traded
for silk and spices.
Capernaum. On the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, it was a modest
town of a 1000 to 1500 people. It was here that this new prophet, Jeshua,
had come preaching the kingdom of God. He had called several of the
local fishermen (Simon, Andrew, James and John) to follow him as his
disciples. And he was doing wondrous things. He drove demons from
people, he had cooled the fever of Simon's mother-in-law. He had healed
so many others, people from all over town, from across the region. He
had shown God's healing power. Even more amazing was the way he taught
about God. He preached throughout Galilee, and he did it with authority,
as one who not only knew about God, but actually knew God.
Here in Capernaum, Jesus had chosen Simon Peter's house, this little
compound made up of 4 or 5 small, thatched buildings sharing a common
courtyard, to be the headquarters for his ministry in Galilee. For the
past days, he and his disciples had been traveling, teaching and
preaching in the region's synagogues, but today he was back in town, and
as news spread, the people of Capernaum turned out in full force to come
hear this rising star. Today, in spite of the heat, they crammed into
Peter's house to hear what he had to say.
This was his first priority, you see. Jesus had come here to preach and
to teach; to tell everyone who had ears to hear that the "Time had
come!" that the "kingdom of God" had drawn near. This was his number one
priority: to proclaim that God was doing a new thing, to share the good
news of God's graciousness to them, and to show God's presence with
them. This was the ministry of Jesus.
But into this gathering, into this teaching time, burst a group of men,
whose priorities were different. They had a friend, and their friend
needed help. It's almost redundant, really, for Mark to say that it was
a group of men. It's pretty obvious when you read on… this is just the
sort of hair-brained escapade that we men tend to get ourselves into
when we gather together in groups. I can imagine this man's buddies
bursting into his humble little shack to collect him. They have heard
that this guy who does all the healing is back, and so they scoop up
their friend, mat and all, and hustle him on down through town to where
this healer is staying. But as they approach the house, they know
they're in trouble. They made a slight miscalculation, didn't plan
ahead, and now they can see the people crammed into the house, out the
door and into the courtyard. It's elbow to elbow, and they quickly
realize that there is no way they are getting their friend through that
mob to see Jesus.
So, what do these men do when they see this obstacle? Do they turn
around and head on home, "Well fellas, we gave it the ol' college try!
Sorry, Bob."
No way. These men were fishermen, farmers, hard workers. This is a group
of manly men. Giving up is not in their vocabulary. These are men who
know how to improvise. They told Bob they were going to get him some
healing, and by gum they intend to do just that! They have their
priorities, and so they start planning. "What about the window." "Nah,
there are too many people there too." "Hmm… well what if we just… you
know, around back… or how about if we…" Sound familiar to any of you?
You know what happens next… that's right, someone pulls out a tape
measure… and then someone else runs home for his toolbox and some rope,
and the next thing you know that group of guys is up on the roof,
digging for all they're worth through the mud and thatch that made up
Peter's ceiling.
Now once again, these men could be accused of having not thought things
through completely. One might reason that if you want to ask a favor of
someone, the best way to introduce yourself to that person would not be
to dig a hole in the roof above his head. That sort of thing just isn't
done, it's not proper. Polite members of society don't break up people's
houses in order to ask for favors. But these men weren't interested in
being polite, or proper. They would have made terrible Presbyterians.
Instead of doing things decently and in order, instead of waiting until
Jesus was done talking, and the crowds had departed, and things had
quieted down… they just come crashing right through the roof, boldly
inserting their friend into the presence of Jesus.
Do you get a picture of what kind of mess it would have made to dig
through a mud and thatch roof? In the Greek, it says quite literally
that they "unroofed the roof" and "dug down." Think about all that dirt,
the dust and the branches and whatever little critters had made their
homes up there in the thatch… all of this material… cascading down all
over Jesus and his disciples and the local teachers of the law, and the
crowd and PETER, whose house it was they were destroying. Not really the
best way to make a first impression. But their priorities were not about
making impressions. Their priority was quite simply to get their friend
some help. And like the bleeding woman Kristin mentioned last week, they
knew that to merely be in the presence of Jesus was to be in the
presence of that help. And maybe, maybe they had planned ahead… maybe
they planned boldly on Jesus being good. Maybe they assumed that Jesus
would not mind the dirt and debris, would not mind the distraction or
the destruction of their entrance, because he would delight in healing
their friend.
And so there stands Jesus, brushing himself off, surrounded by a
murmuring, coughing, sneezing, dusty throng. And as he looks upon this
blatant act of vandalism, this disregard for the way things are done, it
is obvious that he is pleased. And it's here, that things get really
interesting.
I want you to note a few things about what Jesus does. First, he looks
to this GROUP who has brought this man before him, and notes "their
faith." Isn't that interesting? The paralyzed man never really says
anything. We don't know how severe his paralysis was. We don't even know
if he was a willing participant or was just, sort of along for the ride.
We don't know where his heart was, don't know whether he believed Jesus
was in fact the Messiah, or whether he had any sort of feeling of
repentance. We know nothing about what was going on inside of him. But
that doesn't seem to matter. What matters is that his friends brought
him before Jesus. Willing or not, worthy or not, they brought him before
Jesus. Parents, I want you especially to take note of this. And those of
you who have friends in need, friends who need to encounter Jesus and
the healing he can offer… take note. This group would let no obstacle
stand in the way of laying their friend down at the feet of Jesus. And
it is the faith of this entire GROUP in action that Jesus notices. And
"when Jesus saw their faith" he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins
are forgiven."
Now I should clarify something. It can be tempting to look at these
healing stories and turn the faith of the recipient into the really
important ingredient, into the active agent that actually brings about
the healing. "If there is faith," we say, "then God can heal." But let's
look at the healing stories we've encountered so far. To blind
Bartimaeus Jesus says, "Go, your faith has healed you." He says much the
same thing to the bleeding woman. But, the Gerasene demoniac, crazy and
naked, is at first downright hostile to the coming of Jesus. He
certainly shows no faith. And Mary, Martha and the mourners at the tomb
of Lazarus seem more focused on the fact that if Jesus had been there
Lazarus would not have died in the first place. They seem more
interested in the past, and are skeptical that Jesus can do anything
about it now. And as for the man with the withered hand, well he never
says a word one way or the other.
Healing, it seems, does not depend upon us or our measure of faith, or
our righteousness, or even our repentance… The act of healing depends
solely upon the gift and the grace of God. Jesus heals him because he's
there. And it is the faith of his friends that put him there, in the
path of Jesus. And because he is there the love of God touches him with
a healing gift of grace.
I cannot emphasize that enough. It is grace that brings healing, not
worthiness. Have you ever heard something like "If you weren't such a
dirty, rotten, no-good sinner, then maybe God could do something with
you," Well, if you ever do hear something like that, whether you hear it
from someone else, or even from yourself… I want you to remember this:
it is because we are a dirty, rotten, no-good, broken sinners, it is
because of that that God chooses to do something incredible with us. It
is because of that that Jesus acts to transform our lives into something
miraculous. Jesus does not heal because he finds worthiness. Jesus heals
because he finds brokenness. And that's just what Jesus does here. He
looks at the paralytic, lying there on the stretcher before him and says
"Son, your sins are forgiven."
This is the second thing I want you to take note of. Jesus responds with
Grace to this crazy group of guys who have placed their friend at his
feet, but he does not offer the thing that they had expected. Jesus has
a higher priority, a higher purpose. It was obvious what they wanted,
what they had expected. But remember what Jesus' first priority was.
Remember what Jesus had been doing when the men showed up. What he had
been doing all around the region of Galilee. Jesus had come with a
message of eternal significance. Jesus had come to let people know that
God was present among them, that God drew near with forgiveness and
mercy and grace. Jesus had come to share that message, and then, when
the time came, to live that message upon the cross.
This simple phrase is so much more important than any other healing this
man could encounter, for this phrase speaks of his status before God.
This man's physical ailment, his paralysis, may have been most apparent
to those who looked upon him, but the sickness of sin was the more
damaging condition. And this was the illness, the plague upon the world
that Jesus had truly come to treat. And it was an illness that he alone
could treat.
Let me again put it in perspective in light of the other healing
stories. There is something those stories held in common. Blind
Bartimaeus, whose eyes were given new sight by Jesus, would some day
know darkness again as his eyes closed in death. The woman, freed by
Jesus from her bleeding, would some day feel life draining away from
her, as she took her final breath. The man whose hand had been restored
would once again feel his limbs go numb as death crept over him. Even
Lazarus, brought back to life after four days in the tomb, would one day
reenter that tomb and would be sealed away. Each gift of physical
healing that Jesus made, as great as it was, was but a temporary thing.
Every other healing story would have an end, because mortality was still
a reality. But this gift, this gift that Jesus offers to this paralyzed
man is the real deal. It is the promise of wholeness not just in the
here and now, not just in body, it is healing forever in every way. To
be forgiven means to be put back into relationship with the one who made
you in the first place. Whatever the physical ailment, however great the
healing that is required, NOTHING compares to this gift. The men had
come expecting half-measures, but Jesus offered the full deal. How great
a gift their friend received because they were stubborn enough to find a
way to place him at Jesus' feet.
But this is where the teachers of the law chime in. This gift, they
remind us, is not one that just anyone can give. And they should know.
It is their business to remind us of who God is, and who we are in
comparison. "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" they say. Well,
actually they don't really say that at all. They just think it. But
Jesus reads their hearts like an open book, and calls them to account
for their very thoughts.
Their question is one of authority. For Jesus is claiming to know how
this man, lying before them on his mat, surrounded by pieces of Peter's
ceiling, how this man stands in relationship with God. I'm not sure I
can blame the teachers of the law. They are doing what church people
throughout the ages, right up to this very moment, tend to do. They are
noticing the human condition (the absolutely terrible state someone else
is in) and how far above that God seems to be. It is easy for us all to
notice the faults in someone else, and to assume that God must, in some
way, hold those faults against that person. In fact, we may be doing
much the same thing right now. As we look at the teachers of the law, it
is easy to see their faults, and to assume that God is going to hold it
against them. But in a way, they help Jesus to make a very important
point.
Jesus responds to their rhetorical question with one of his own. "Which
is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,' or to say,
‘Get up, take your mat and walk'?" His question is about authority and
whether or not he has the power to back it up. It is an important
question. Remember, Jesus' first priority is his proclamation that God
has come near, with forgiveness and mercy and grace. And so he has been
teaching and preaching… with authority. It is this authority that has
set him apart from the teachers and preachers all around him. Jesus has
shown his authority over the evil spirits, over sickness, even over
Satan himself as he was tempted in the desert. Now, once more, he is
asked to demonstrate his authority, to back up his claims. And he seems
more than willing to do just that.
Jesus says, in essence, that there is no way to prove one way or the
other, whether what he just said to this man is true. It is easy to say
the words, but hard to know if there is power to back them up. But, to
say to him "Get up and walk"? Well, that would be easy to verify, and it
would take the same sort of power to back it up. So, says Jesus, that
you may know that I have authority over the really important bit… that
is the forgiveness of sins… "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go
home." The paralytic "got up, took his mat and walked out in full view
of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have
never seen anything like this!"
I think this demonstration was more than just for the doubting teachers
of the law, or even for the crowd of onlookers, and this brings me to my
final point. This is a wonderful story of a crazy group of guys who will
stop at nothing to put their needy friend at the feet of Jesus. And when
he is there, he receives a gift more incredible than he could have
expected. But how is HE to know the truth of Jesus' words. How can he,
lying there in the dirt and debris of Peter's roof, unable to move,
truly know that God is not his enemy anymore? How is he to know the
reality of his sins being forgiven? As long as he is still there in the
dirt, still paralyzed, he too will have doubts. His smaller hurt could
quite effectively keep him from knowing the reality of that larger
healing. In order for God's first priority to be fully met in his life,
the other needs also need to be attended to. It takes this second
healing, this rising and walking before he too can see the truth in
God's gift of forgiveness.
People need to be able to encounter God, to be brought to the feet of
Jesus regardless of what obstacles may stand in the way. They need to
hear the message of God's forgiveness in Jesus Christ. And they need to
see concrete demonstrations of God's grace and love and healing in
action. These are gifts we are all called to give. We have the privilege
and responsibility of being instruments of God's grace and love in full
view of the world.
We are called to be crazy stubborn friends. We are called to speak God's
words of forgiveness. We are called to seek ways for those second
healings, the little healings that witness to that greatest of healings,
"Your sins are forgiven."
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