When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "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 Jesus and the disciples had come out of the Capernaum synagogue where He had been preaching, 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!"  Mark gives us the details of Jesus' explosively-growing public ministry.  They can't even come into the house anymore, as there are so many people gathered there to see Jesus.  The people who need Him and what He offers so desperately wish to approach Him that they even open up the roof over Christ's head to lower down a paralyzed friend.  My study bible has an interesting emphasis on this passage.  It notes that one purpose of Christ's coming into the world is to forgive sins, and thereby freeing humanity from its bondage.  To forgive sins, it says, is a greater power than physical healing.  As the scribes correctly note, God alone can forgive sins.  Therefore, the easier task is to give physical healing.  Although Christ is fully God, and He holds the authority to forgive, He condescends to those gathered and heals the man in order to draw people to God, who is glorified by the people.

One part of this story is always striking, and that is the faith of the friends of the paralytic.  Their efforts for Him are like prayers.  It's perhaps ironic that while we think of prayers ascending to Jesus, these people reach through the roof to send the paralytic down to Jesus.  But the story here is their tenacity, and their creativity.  If they cannot easily reach Jesus, they find the means necessary to do so, even if it's unconventional, even a little bit outrageous.  But faith works like that.  There are paths we may take that seem circuitous, even crazy to some.  The path to our faith doesn't necessarily come easily.  This paralyzed man doesn't easily get to Jesus.  First he must rely on his friends to help him, and that's just the beginning of the journey.  How could he have considered coming in through the roof?  Another commentary on this passage emphasizes faith; that faith is a necessary and indispensable condition for salvation.  Faith itself works in mysterious and unpredictable ways.  In the example of today's passage, we see that faith is like water -- it flows in streams, in rivulets, underground, even in condensation through the atmosphere.  It forms its own paths and winding journeys to its source.  Here we learn that faith is collective as well as personal; the friends form a part of this healing, and so it is when we pray for one another, even when we ask those among the communion of saints to pray for us.   A profound truth contained in today's reading is just the surprising and unpredictable ways in which our faith will work.  No one could have foreseen that a paralytic would come in for healing through the roof.  The scribes, we can see, are outraged by what Jesus has to say -- that He can forgive sins.  There is more than one astonishing truth revealed here.  One is tempted to point out that just as a paralytic can come through a roof for healing, there are no limits to what God can and will do to save a world.  He even condescends to become one of us, a human being.  How can we put limits on God?  We cannot.  By the same token, we can't put limits or predictability on our faith either.  We just don't know where the journey will lead us, or what God's purposes are in honing our desire for God, in shaping our commitment, refining it and strengthening it.  The struggle for God will teach us to surpass what we may think of as our own limits, and to learn true spiritual creativity in manifesting and pursuing that faith.  There are all kinds of pathways to follow, and each, while retaining characteristics of love and devotion, may be as unique as the person or persons involved in every story.  To lower this man through the roof means there are no limits to be set that will define the journey.  There is only God who calls us and asks us to make that effort, whatever it takes for us to do so, and however it guides and shapes who we are and who we become.   To be forgiven is to be freed, liberated -- it is to be set free to find God's limits upon our lives, which are far and away beyond our own.   The paralytic is a kind of metaphor for being "stuck" in sin, in the repetition of wrong-headed ideas, mistaken belief, a way of living that isn't really best for us.  Faith demands that we stretch, and offers us the freedom to do so.