Son, your sins are forgiven you

 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

- Mark 2:1-12

Yesterday, we read that as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.  At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.  Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"   My study bible has a note on this entire passage.  It asks us to observe that one purpose of Christ's coming into the world  is to forgive sins, thus freeing humanity from its bondage.  Forgiving sins is a greater power than physical healing, for, as the scribes correctly note here, God alone can forgive sins.  Thus, the easier task is to grant physical healing.  Though Christ is fully God and holds the authority to forgive, He condescends to those gathered and heals this man in order to draw people to God, whom they glorified."

In commentary by Church Fathers, it's often noted that paralysis is a kind of metaphor for sin.  We can get stuck in a certain place, repeating behaviors that aren't necessarily any good for us or for others, for that matter.  We can get stuck in a kind of mental loop that doesn't allow us to go forward and find a better way.  We can think of all kinds of bad habits, bad attitudes, hurtful behaviors, and self-harming patterns that would fit this description.  Often we may be in bondage simply from a mental or spiritual point of view.  If we've always done something one way, or perhaps our parents instilled in us one particular kind of way of thinking, we can be stuck in something that is harmful, never considering there may be a better way.  All of this is to say that repentance and forgiveness serves God in moving us forward and getting us unstuck from ways of life and ways of thinking that are harmful.  To repent, we remember, literally means in the Greek to "change one's mind."   Here, in the illustration of this paralytic in today's story, it's particularly important to take note of my study bible's remark that the forgiveness of sins frees us from bondage.  In this case, it quite literally frees the young man from his paralysis, and following that, from all kinds of ways in which he is imprisoned in his bed.  It's often stated that we observe here the power of prayer and its effects that cross over all boundaries and limitations.  The power of prayer is indicated in the help of this man's friends, carrying him to Christ even via the roof, when there are so many others gathered who crowd the room impossibly.  Thus is illustrated the power of prayer to affect all things, the attention of Christ to such efforts, even when they are made on our behalf -- even if we are too "stuck," or in some sense weak, to do so for ourselves.   Prayer shows a kind of initiative and commitment to finding a way, even when there is no way that is obvious.  It doesn't mean we have the answers or know how to solve all our problems.  It means we're open to a way that doesn't immediately appear before us.  It means we're open to change that is unexpected, to taking another road -- it means that we are open to our own freedom of which we may not be totally aware.  We're willing to be enlightened.  Are there times in your life when you are stuck in your life and can't find a way forward?  Prayer is the opening up to the law and compassion of Christ, to the word that teaches a way forward even through the crowds.  It's a way to open up to becoming unstuck, and to accepting the grace to do so and whatever effort it takes to find Christ and His word for us.  There are all kinds of ways in which the world and our lives in it can render us "stuck" in some fashion or another.  Childhood coping behaviors, for example, are often cited as ways in which adults dysfunction later on, as we cling to what we know or learned once upon a time that no longer serves us moving forward.  Let us remember that the word in the gospels for sin is amartia in the Greek, or "missing the mark" as in missing a target with an arrow, for example.  The perfect place for prayer is in the times we need to grow up, no matter how late it is, or how far behind we seem to be in the crowds that jostle to hear Christ.  His forgiveness is the power to free, to liberate -- and to release us in a life that is filled with possibilities that just wouldn't be there for us otherwise.  Let us remember that in the Greek of the gospels, the word for forgiveness is one that means to "let go," like wiping a slate clean, or erasing a debt from an accounting book.  It's an act of freedom from something, a liberation -- in order for the freedom to choose again, His way.