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 of 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 Jesus and the disciples had come out of the synagogue where Jesus taught (see Tuesday's reading), 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.  And 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.   Jesus and the disciples return from preaching in other towns in Galilee, to their "headquarters," so to speak, at the family home of Simon Peter and Andrew.  We note Jesus' fame, and also the priority here:  Jesus 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."   It may be jarring to us to read Jesus' reaction, to teach the paralytic first that his sins were forgiven him.  We don't know about his history nor his paralysis.  But we can observe a tie here being spiritual and physical well-being.  Traditionally, sin has been likened to paralysis, in which we are somehow "stuck" in our ways of thinking; repentance, or "change of mind" which the word in the Greek literally means, is key healing.  The faith of the paralytics friends helps bring him to Christ, to his healing -- it teaches us about communion, community, and the encompassing nature of the spiritual life and Christ's healing power when we or someone we care about is "stuck" and ailing.

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 of 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 points out forgiving sins is a greater power than physical healing, because, as the scribes say correctly, God alone can forgive sins.  In the healing of this man, God is glorified (that is directly what it means to be a "sign").  Therefore more are drawn to healing power, which includes freedom from bondage to sin.

What does it mean to be "stuck"?  In Christ's power as healer, we also include the forgiveness of sin -- the capacity to set us free in ways that are not possible otherwise.  If you think about mental bondage, a kind of inner slavery to something, the inability to move on or move forward, it is a kind of slavery that binds beyond the physical.  We can be crippled by the things that hold us in ways no one else can see, "stuck" in a place where no physical means can help.  If we look at the problem of mental illness, we see how devastating "invisible" illness can be on the quality of a person's life.  Therefore, Jesus' first response to the paralytic, that his sins are forgiven, becomes the response of compassion -- and even a response to the faith of his friends.  In John 8:34, Jesus tells us that "whoever commits sin is a slave of sin."  Such language indicates a profound relationship between freedom and spiritual truth (as He also tells us).  In that context, a sin is a type of lie, something that keeps us stuck in a blind alley, until we can move past it.  Does selfishness really help us?  What about a bigger purpose?  Keeping up a lie can take a lot of work, and we wind up serving that purpose, instead of moving on and finding something more worthwhile that builds up our lives instead.  Denial is a type of lie in this sense.  Christ "liberates" the paralytic in today's reading in the same way He may help us to get past our own stumbling blocks, the places that keep us slaves to something that's a lie, something we must move on from.   What keeps you in a holding pattern?  What do you serve that does not serve you back with love and truth?  Let us consider what it is to be paralyzed, and how freedom isn't only a physical or external condition, but an internal one for all of us.  Sometimes we have to make a choice to move on, a hard way to say good-bye.  It might be a lie holding us back, a false loyalty to something that's not really good for us.  Repentance also takes the form of turning to Christ for light, the way forward out of the past with the truth that liberates.