Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men

 

 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 after Jesus was preaching there, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with  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, "Le 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.  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 points out to us that one purpose of Christ's coming into the world is to forgive sins, freeing humanity from this bondage.  Forgiving sins is a greater power than physical healing, for, as the scribes correctly note, God alone can forgive sins.  In this way, my study bible explains, the easier task for Christ is to grant physical healing.  Although He is fully God and also holds the authority to forgive, Jesus condescends to those gathered and heals this paralytic so that people are drawn to God, whom they glorified.  Let us also note that this story reveals Christ's divinity as He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7, 2 Chronicles 6:30).  In addition, He is revealed as the Word, whom John the Evangelist writes "was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:1-3) -- for He is able to heal humanity by the power of His word. 

It is worth contemplating what the power of a word is.  We know Christ's power to heal with His words, and that this power comes from His divine identity and being.  But this story also invites us to consider the power of our word, as it is directed to God and "with God" in prayer.  When we seek that communion, we seek a participation in something far grander than ourselves.  In prayer we may be connected to all the great communion of the saints and the angels, together with the Holy Trinity.  We enter into a communion that holds us, helps us, heals us.  But it also does something more:  our prayers allow us to help heal others.  This is illustrated through the action of the friends in this story, who make the effort to bring the paralytic to Christ.  They do not let obstacles stop them -- of so many other people crowding in for Christ's attention and help.  They go to the extraordinary effort to get their friend there, by going to the roof, uncovering it, and lowering down the bed through the opening so that their friend can be brought to Christ.  This is frequently likened to prayer, in which our words may also carry our friends to God when they cannot do it for themselves, or they need the help that we can provide.  This part of the reason why prayer is so important.  It is not merely for ourselves, but rather something we do "for the life of the world" (John 6:33, 51).  We call upon Christ through our participation in His life so that that life may also heal the world, whether we pray specifically for others or the prayers of the Church for the world or groups of people in the world -- or even through our own communion and subsequent life in the world in which we seek to live that faith.  Through prayer we enter into that mystical reality of the Word, which is also light and life, and our prayer anchors Christ in the midst of the world, wherever we are, whatever we experience and see, whatever may be happening in the world.  For those monastics who have gone to the deserts and monasteries throughout the world for a life of prayer, this is what they are quite conscious of doing.  They do not pray merely for themselves or some inward purpose, but for the life of the world, and to save the world.  Their prayers bring their life in Christ into the world -- just as the friends of the paralytic opened up the roof and lowered him down so he could be healed by Christ.  In a world consumed with activism and image, we have lost or forgotten this reality of our faith to a great extent, and I'm certain there are people who would scoff a the very idea although they are Christian.  But if we lose our understanding of our faith as a mystical religion and couched and based in mystical reality, we lose sight of who we are and what we are -- and especially the reality in which we participate and which is illumined for us through the ministry of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels.  It is not possible to dismiss the mystical reality of God and the saints from our prayer; we are rooted there in that reality.  All of our practices enshrine it and build it; this is the meaning of the kingdom of God coming near to us (Luke 10:9-11;11:20) -- and that it is within us and among us (Luke 17:20-21).  In yesterday's reading (see above) the text made clear that Christ rose very early in the morning, before the sunrise, to begin His day with prayer.  Just like Christ's connection with the Father and the Spirit and the example He set for us, we should remember this foundation to our lives and to all that we do in the world.  It is part and parcel of our very purpose, and the purpose for which He was sent, to establish and maintain that communion.  Whether we pray with set prayers of the Church, read and recite the beautiful Psalms which we know Christ also prayed Himself, or use prayer practices like the Jesus Prayer or the prayers of the Rosary, we engage with our Lord and bring His life into the world as we do.   Interestingly, the paralytic was carried by four men.  One wonders if we might knew these four as the four points of the Cross which carries us, or the four Evangelists who gave us the living word of the Gospels.  But it is active prayer that connects us where we are in the here and the now, to the very life of Christ and God's living Kingdom in our midst.