Jesus returns to Capernaum after a sojourn in the countryside.  His fame made

it difficult for him to find peace in the city or in the country and his

authority continues to be viewed as in conflict with that of the scribes. 

This time, however, it is not Jesus' power to heal that is questioned; it is

his claim to forgive sins.  His antagonists believe that only God can forgive

sin, therefore Jesus is guilty of blasphemy.  The sin of blasphemy was a

capital offense to the orthodox Jew of the that day, thus this same charge

would become central to the prosecution's case against Jesus at his trial,

prior to his crucifixion.

The manner of bringing the paralytic to Jesus is of particular interest.  The

men cannot make their way through the crowd with their friend lying on a mat

so, instead, they lower him through the roof.  Breaking through the beams

covered with mud thatch would have been a startling experience for those

inside the house, who would have had chunks of roof and dust falling on their

heads.  And yet, the important lesson is that when men have such an intense

desire to see Jesus they will take the roof off of a house to get to him.

And there is more!  While the event reported in the text before us is usually

entitled:  "Jesus heals a paralytic."  It would be more proper to title this

passage:

"Jesus, the forgiver of sins."  For, a careful reader will notice that Jesus

does not immediately heal the paralytic. Jesus first says:  "Son, your sins

are forgiven."

 

This declaration comes surprisingly and suddenly---leading one to conclude

that there is somehow a connection between infirmity and sin.  Wrong!  We

know there is no such connection because in John's gospel, when the disciples

ask Jesus if the blindness of a man was due to the blind man's sin or his

parents' sin Jesus quickly dismisses any "cause and effect" between sickness

and sin (John 9:1-11).

The paralytic is not disabled because he is any more a sinner than anyone

else. Sin and infirmity have nothing to do with each other accept, perhaps,

their order of importance.  It is more important to be forgiven than to be

healed.  Over and over again, throughout the gospels, healing is, for Jesus,

almost an afterthought, while forgiveness is paramount. By separating, in

this way, the forgiving of the paralytic's sin from the healing of the

paralytic's body, Jesus gives clear priority to forgiveness and, Mark is thus

able to emphasize that Jesus is no mere "miracle worker" ---he is divine!

Since the scribes believed that only God could forgive sins, the controversy

that followed concerned Jesus' self-proclaimed right to bestow

forgiveness---on God's behalf.  And, as one might expect, the question Jesus

puts to the scribes in this regard is provocative and perplexing:

        "Which is easier, to say. . . 'Your sins are forgiven'

    or, to say. . . 'Stand up and take your mat and walk'?" (v. 9)

 

From the perspective of Orthodox Judaism, being able to forgive sins is far

more significant.  The story ends with the paralytic (who still hasn't said

anything) walking out.  Again, the crowd is amazed. Jesus' authority and

power are second to none.

It's a safe generalization that we Americans are fixated on this kind of

"success." We only pay lip service to the often repeated maxim that "we learn

from our failures."  Everyone wants to be a "winner," not a "loser."  Is this

not the rankest idolatry? In actuality, we are creatures.  We are mortal.  If

we wish to be "healers," we must, ourselves, be healed.  And, we can do

this---be ourselves healed---only by admitting our hurts;  admitting them to

others but, first to ourselves!

The Holy Spirit empowers us to see hurt and heartbreak in a new way.  We have

the power to give them new names.  "Old failures," "old losses," and "old

disappointments" may be legitimately re-framed as "new hopes," "new

directions," "new opportunities," and a "new life."  Entrusting our lives to

the will of God and remaining open to God's leading and direction, are not

always easy and not always a pleasant, part of our faith journey.  And yet,

more often than not, when life says "No," God-in-Christ says, "Yes!"

Humorist, Erma Bombeck, wrote this bout her own "successes" and "failures":

"I have several reactions when I hear people introduce me as a speaker.

Sometimes the accolades are so glowing that I don't even recognize myself.  I

figure Mother Teresa just flew in to give the invocation.  Other times I feel

like bolting while I'm still ahead.  But most of the time I feel as if the

only decent thing I can do to justify such a tribute is to die.

I would like to propose a new wrinkle to introductions.  Instead of listing a

speaker's successes, why not list the failures?  [For example] born average,

our guest tonight never rose above it.  Her first and last comedy album raced

to oblivion.  She has written numerous plays no one ever heard of because

they never made it to the stage.  She has never won a Pulitzer Prize, never

been invited to the White House for dinner, and has never been interviewed by

Barbara Walters.

    "Failure, says Bombeck, is what most of us do.  We do that a lot more

than we succeed.  So, if the speaker is such a loser, then what's the point

of all those people listening to what she has to say?  Because despite all

the disappointments and the failures, she's still managed to go on breathing

and put them aside."

Tomorrow is Presidents' Day. Even those who ascend so high---those who lead

the most powerful nation on earth, do not succeed in everything.  Abraham

Lincoln, judged by many to be the greatest of our Presidents, suffered defeat

in his first run for both the Illinois legislature and the United States

Senate.  He experienced failure as a shopkeeper and only modest success as an

attorney.   Once elected president, he experienced defeats in the conduct of

the Civil War that, although devastating, paled by comparison to the loss of

three of his four sons before they attained adulthood.  Life hit Lincoln with

some bitter "No's."  Lincoln shares with every humble citizen experiences of

loss, failure, and disappointment.  You can be sure that among those who will

come here to worship today, there will be many a broken heart.  (repeat)

There are many roads not taken simply because life says "No."  We need to

hear that message, for indeed what we often perceive as failure is, for us,

the only road to success!  Failures that result in heartache must be named

and owned.  Covering them up-pretending to yourself or others that shattered

hearts are whole-is a sure way to increase the grip of grief on your heart. 

We are, after all, human.  With the peculiar human faculty of a reasoning

heart we are able to take a step toward, yes, even godliness!

To perceive God in Christ is to know him through the Word, and receive him

through the mysterious eating and drinking of bread and wine.  Here (point to

heart) and there (point toward altar) we can meet God endlessly!  Here and

there we can discover again and again that we whom God loves, he loves to the

very end!   And not only to the "end" which is our death, but to THE END,

which Scripture tells us is when and where he loves us eternally!