Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house

So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!" But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

- Matthew 9:1-8

In yesterday's reading, Jesus encountered two demoniacs on the "other side" of the Sea of Galilee, in Gentile territory. They were so fierce with the mental derangement that possessed them, that they were consigned to live among the tombs. Even so, no one could pass through that way. The demons recognized Jesus, and begged that they be sent into a herd of swine nearby -- they feared their power would be curbed before the day of the Last Judgment. Jesus accepted their request, and the swine ran down the cliff to their destruction. The people, having heard the news, all came to meet Jesus, but asked Him to leave their region. See What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?

So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. We see the familiar pattern: from Gentile territory He now crosses back over to His home territory in Galilee. This city is Capernaum, which serves as His headquarters for His Galilean ministry, and from which several of His disciples come. Peter's family home, for example, is here.

Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." Here is a case in which a man's friends bring Him to Christ. He's a paralytic; by definition, he can't do for himself, he can't walk. In spiritual terms, we might see an analogy: he is 'stuck.' There are times when my study bible has noted that sin is a form of spiritual paralysis, in which we can't seem to go forward and grow spiritually. Then, our friends can truly help, through faith and prayer. Prayer, we remember, is a petition -- and its effects show us our inter-connectedness in the spiritual reality of God, in the Body of Christ. Here, the gospel tells us that Jesus is responding to their faith. My study bible says, "As shown by the healing of the paralytic, faith is an indispensable condition for salvation. And faith is collective as well as personal, for the faith of the paralytic's friends is required for healing, and the saving faith of the paralytic impresses the multitudes."

And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!" I find it striking that the gospel reveals to us the inner thoughts of the scribes. It is a way in which this literature touches on all of us -- life isn't just a collection of external events that happen to us; there is an entire inner world in which Christ is deeply concerned, for each of us.

But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Indeed, Jesus finds so much importance in the inner life of human beings, that here He responds specifically to the inner thoughts and indignation of the scribes. He brings it out into the open, and responds, with His call for the paralytic to walk. This is all in order to teach, to display something to them all. In yesterday's reading, the demons learned of this power. Today, He displays it for the scribes and all the people.

And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men. Here, the "marveling" of the crowds can be likened to being awe-struck. This is a truly awesome event, with its real connotations of the extraordinary, perhaps even provoking a kind of fear. It is utterly unexpected, unknown, a revelation. My study bible points out that there are three ways, in this story, in which Christ reveals His divinity, in properties that belong to God alone. He knows what is in the hearts of the scribes (He is the knower-of hearts), He grants the forgiveness of sins, and this healing is performed merely by the power of His word. But there is a deeper sort of awe here, and it is explicitly recorded for us here. God has become human. It is awe-inspiring any way you look at it. It will be also foolishness and a stumbling block, and for many it remains so today. God is glorified, Who "had given such power to men."

So let's consider the truly awe-inspiring events in this story for ourselves. How can God become human? What does this mean, in terms of the limitations of human beings, and the true value God places upon each one of us? In yesterday's story of the healing of the demoniacs, we asked ourselves similar questions. My study bible pointed out the great worth that Christ -- that God -- places on human beings. Here, an individual human being, with all of our weaknesses and vulnerabilities, is incarnate God. If that is not awe-provoking in the possibilities it implies, I don't know what is. Why should God do this? Why is this the plan? We know one answer we are told plainly: because God so loved us, loved the world. And then we must ask of ourselves, what limitations then can we place on God? The answer is that there are none. We just don't know how God might work in our own lives, or someone else's. Holiness, Bishop Kallistos Ware, for one, has written, is infinitely creative. Evil, on the other hand, always seems to be "stuck" (read paralyzed) in the same old thing. As Christ will teach, we cannot limit the work of the Holy Spirit in the world. This is not up to us! It is infinitely creative, always "making new" in ways that will surprise us, that we can't expect, coming in through the cracks in our own defenses that we can't see. So, when we pray, let us consider the unlimited nature of the things of God, what is witnessed in today's story in the gospel, how we can't really put limits on God, at all, in any way. Let us consider into what realm we enter when we pray, and with what mercy and generosity our prayer may be accompanied in ourselves, and met by God who is love.