For which is easier, to say, "Your sins are forgiven you," or to say, "Arise and walk?"

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus and the disciples had come to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?  Have You come here to torment us before the time?"  Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."  And He said to them, "Go."  So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine.  And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.  Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.  And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region. 

 

 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.   Jesus returns to Capernaum, the city of His ministry headquarters.   

 

 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.  My study Bible comments that, as shown by the healing of the paralytic, faith is an indispensable condition for salvation.  Faith is collective as well as personal, my study Bible points out, for here the paralytic's friends helped in his healing.  There are three signs of Christ's divinity shown in this healing miracle.  First, He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Chronicles 6:30).  Christ also forgives sins, which is a power that belongs to God only.  And finally, He heals by the power of His word.

 

 What is the power of Christ's word?  This commentary in my study Bible is quite interesting, because it invites us to understand why that reveals Christ's divinity.  We think first of all of the story of Genesis, in which the world is created.  All is done by the power of God's word.  God both speaks things into existence, and gives them names by which they are called.  For example, we read, "Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day" (Genesis 1:3-5).  God does the same for the land and the sea, the plants and vegetation and fruit of all kinds, the stars, the moon and the sun, all the fish and every creature that populates the sea, and all the winged birds of the air of all types.  Then God created all the animals of the land, and finally we're told that God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (Genesis 1:26).  We notice that God does not say to Himself only, "Let Me make man in My image..." but rather, "Let Us make man in Our image."  This invites us to consider the plural "Us" involved in that creation.  And there we remember the Gospel of John, which also begins by paraphrasing Genesis.  St. John writes, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).  And who is this Word, and what was this Word that co-created within the plural "Us" of God?  That word is the Son, whom we know as Christ who came into the world as a human being called Jesus.  Jesus is the Word, the Logos in Greek, and in today's reading He reveals the power of His spoken word.  Moreover, as we have just recently finished reading through the Sermon on the Mount, let us note that Christ also admonishes us about the power of our own spoken words, and does not discount nor minimize this power either.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'  But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.  And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council.  But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire" (Matthew 5:21-22).  Moreover, also in this sermon, He teaches us about swearing oaths:  "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one" (Matthew 5:33-37).  He teaches us about the power to harm, about a futile use of words in swearing, and about a proper use of our words as well ("Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'").  How many of us take our own words this seriously?  In the context of today's passage, we read that the paralytics friends are necessary to facilitate his healing.  This is often interpreted to pertain to our prayers, and how our praying for others helps others (in addition to ourselves).  Through prayer we help to bring people to healing of many kinds.  But let us consider the words of the friends of the paralytic.  We imagine them to be encouraging, faithful, giving confidence, and kindness.  For without these, in addition to their heroic act of help, could they really have helped persuade the paralytic to allow them to pursue the help Jesus for him in this way?  And if, on the contrary, they had spoken words of discouragement to him, can we imagine what that outcome would be?  Therefore, let us consider the power of our words, for we are made in God's image, as Genesis tells us.  There is quite an interesting article on a blog written by Father Stephen Freeman about this topic of words, in which he writes of words as a type of icons (see Truth, Lies, and Icons).  Just as Jesus advocates about our "Yes" and "No," Father Stephen encourages us to recognize the power of truth, and the destructive emptiness of lies.  For just as we remember that Christ is the Truth, so we also remember that it is the devil who is the father of lies.  Therefore, although we are not ourselves divine, let us endeavor to be like Him in the power of our own words, and follow His teachings on this subject.  We note here that Christ even knows the false words in the hearts of others, the false judgment that "This Man blasphemes!"  Even the concept of blasphemy itself teaches us something about the power of words, the destructiveness of lies.  As Jesus says to them, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?"  Let us follow His example, and choose our words wisely, and truthfully, with meaning and integrity, and our power to choose.  For we also create something with our words.

 

 

 

"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"

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, after Jesus and the disciples passed through a stormy Sea of Galilee, when He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Jesus two demon-possessed men, coming out fo the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?  Have you come here to torment us before the time?"  Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."  And He said to them, "Go."  So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine.  And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.  Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.  And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

 

So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.  Jesus' own city is Capernaum, to which Jesus returns after crossing the Sea of Galilee and healing the demon-possessed men in yesterday's reading (above).  

 

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.  As shown by this healing of the paralytic, faith is an indispensable condition for salvation, my study Bible notes.  It asks us to note also that faith is collective as well as personal -- as it is the faith of the paralytic's friends that helped in his healing.  There are three signs here in which Jesus' divinity is manifest.  First, He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Chronicles 6:30).  Second, He forgives sins, which is a power which belongs to God alone (which the scribes understand in our reading).  Finally, He heals by the power of His word.  

 

While my study Bible duly notes the powers of God manifest in Christ, which testify to His divinity, it's quite interesting that we're told, "Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men."  To my way of thinking, this implies something very special about the Incarnation.  Although clearly the people presume that Jesus is "just" a human being, while the text reveals His divine nature, we understand Jesus to be both divine and human.  In fact, I frequently hear theologians comment on the Incarnation that Jesus was not "half and half" nor any other percentage of human to divine, but rather one hundred percent divine, and one hundred percent human.  That is, in the language of the Church we often hear, fully God and fully human.  So, while in today's reading Jesus displays qualities known to pertain only to God, as the scribes note, the people marvel that such gifts of power have been given to men, to a human being.  In the multitude's marveling, the common people have latched on to a very significant intuition manifest in our understanding of Jesus and His saving mission to us:  it required that He be both fully human and fully God in order for God's work to remain at work in us and in the world.  This is because as His humanity takes on also the qualities of His divinity, so it implies what we human beings are capable of becoming.  It implies, as the people note here, the power that can be at work in us.   This word translated as power, in the Greek (ἐξουσία/exousia), has the implication of "authority."  That means that God has given a human being authority to do such great works, to manifest these powers that are understood to belong to God.  It is a sign of God's grace, that such great works are given to a human being to do; it implies that God shares not just power or energy but authority with humans.  It gives us a sense of God's condescension to us in the Incarnation, God's great love manifest in these actions not merely to heal a paralytic but to enable a human being to share in this divine nature.  It implies to us, and for the rest of us, that through faith, this power can also be at work in us.  None of us, of course, is the Savior.  None of us is the Messiah.  There is only one Jesus Christ.  But nevertheless, through grace, we may also partake of God's authority and power, such as when Jesus sent out the apostles on their first mission, giving them certain power.  In the next chapter,  Matthew writes, "And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease" (Matthew 10:1).  When Jesus "gave them power" to do these things, He shared His own power.  But what makes the people marvel is nevertheless a good intuition, because God's grace can share such power with human beings.  It elevates us to a sense of the things of which we are capable, and this comes only through faith.   When on an occasion the disciples are unable to cast out an unclean spirit, Jesus tells them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting" (Matthew 17:20-21).  We should keep in mind that prayer and fasting are two ways of increasing faith.  When a rich young man cannot bring himself to detach from his wealth in order to follow Jesus, Jesus comments to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And He replies to their astonished question regarding who then can be saved, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (see Matthew 19:21-26).  The Incarnation opens that door for God to work through us by grace, even to share God's power with us, in ways and measures only God knows, but which nevertheless we are assured come through faith.  Christ's Incarnation means that we can understand that reliance upon God -- faith -- can help us through our own difficulties, especially to rise above what we consider our limitations.  We are capable of change and transformation, for this is the heart of repentance and its meaning.  We can break bad habits; a rich person raised in privilege, despite the tremendous difficulty, can detach identity from possessions; a person who's always been told they will amount to nothing is nevertheless blessed in faith by God.  All manner of addictions to which we might find we're slaves can come under the same category of helping grace through faith.  Jesus assures the disciples flatly, in Luke's version of the story of the rich young man, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God" (Luke 18:27).  This is the blessing of shared power, which teaches us that there is so much of which we're capable that we don't know, but that it comes through faith and our seeking of God.  There is more to us in potential than we imagine; let Christ show us the way. Such healing and salvation can come even through the faith of others, as today's reading shows.   Let us not neglect our faith nor the power of the practices that help to shore it up and make it grow in us.  Jesus, as Son of Man, human and divine, has the power to forgive sins.  But through His disciples and His grace, He will even share this in the Church (John 20:21-23). 

 

 

 

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you"

 

Healing of the Paralytic - Toros of Taron 1276–ca. 1346, Armenian, Monastery of Gladzor Gospel Book 1300–1307

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus and the disciples had come to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?  Have You come here to torment us before the time?"  Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."  And He said to them, "Go."  So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine.  And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.  Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.  And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

 

 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.   Jesus' own city is Capernaum (see Matthew 4:13).

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.  As shown by the healing of the paralytic, faith is an indispensable condition for salvation.  In this particular healing, we must note that -- as my study Bible points out -- faith is collective as well as personal.  Here it is the faith of the paralytic's friends which also plays a role to help in his healing.  There are three signs of Jesus' divinity on display in today's reading.  First, that He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7, 2 Chronicles 6:30).  Second, Christ forgives sins, which -- as the scribes know -- is a power which belongs to God alone.  Finally, Christ heals by the power of His word, an indication of His identity as the Word, through Whom the world was spoken into existence (John 1:1-3, Genesis 1:3).

We have spoken before of the indispensable power of faith that must be present in Christ's healings (see this reading and commentary).  But, what is interesting about today's reading, as my study Bible points out, is the nature of faith as not just individual, but also as collective.  That is, it works between us and among us, so that even the prayers of this man's friends availed him of Christ's healing power.  It is essential for us to understand this power of faith and prayer, as it forms a kind of circuit -- even a network, if you will.  There is a lot of modern understanding of networks, as our lives are filled with them through social media and all sorts of other tools of modern technology and our dependence upon them.  An ATM network for a bank is one such communication tool we rely on for our economies and commerce.  The internet is a network we all rely upon for myriad uses in communications of all types, be it between nations across the earth or individuals who need to communicate messages to one another, and everything in between, from business to military to commercial enterprises and information of all sorts.  In other words, the world today is reliant upon networks of all kinds.  But we rarely stop to think about how our faith also resembles one of these networks, as it also works in many ways.  To participate in the kingdom of God should invite us also to think about networks, and how one person's prayer may reach out to a saint who lived even many centuries ago, to God and to Christ, to the angels who watch over us, and all of this is contained in what it means to worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).   When Jesus was asked by the Pharisees about the coming of the kingdom of God, He responded, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!'  For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (see Luke 17:20-21).  In the Greek, the words for "within you" can mean both within and among.  In other words, I believe this can be understood as implying both.  That is, the Kingdom dwells within our hearts, both individually and collectively.  It exists within us, and it exists among us.  And thereby, as we can see from today's reading, it also exists between us, so to speak.  That is, one person's prayers and faith may communicate another's, bringing them closer to God by some unknown mechanism connected deep within us, within a "network" we might even call "spirit and truth."  Certainly the mysterious workings of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, also work in this manner.  Jesus indicated so when He spoke to Nicodemus about Baptism, of being born of water and the Spirit.  He said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:5-8).  This mysterious description of the work of the Spirit, even the elements of water and wind, suggest networks of flowing energy that we can't necessarily detect or see but nevertheless are always at work, within us and among us.  As Jesus says, we may "hear" it but it blows where it wishes and creates its effects (the words in both Greek and Hebrew for wind, breath, and spirit are the same).  Clearly our faith works together with the grace of God and God's holiness in mysterious ways, among and between us, connecting us all in unknown and unfathomably infinite ways to one another and even to the meanings in the word of God.  This is what faith is, and thereby, through the demonstration of the paralyzed man in today's reading, we must count on the idea that these mysterious networks and connections are at work in us when we pray and worship and otherwise practice our faith, seeking God's guidance for our lives, and even for those for whom we pray as well, and among whom we dwell.  Paralysis, in the viewpoint of our forebears, has been seen as likeness to sin:  it keeps us stuck somewhere.  We don't go forward.  In this perspective, we could liken it to a kind of immaturity, a place where we are stuck in our growth process.  To bring in God's energies of grace is to help to heal by getting us moving forward again, and repentance and forgiveness work hand in hand in this endeavor.  If we can pray for one another, we can also help one another to become "unstuck" and healed from our paralysis by coming closer to Christ.  Let us consider all the myriad ways faith works in its mysterious manners, and know that this is for us and within us, within us and among us.

 

 

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you"

 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

Yesterday we read that when Jesus and the disciples had come to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?  Have You come here to torment us before the time?"  Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."  And He said to them, "Go."  So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine.  And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.  Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.  And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

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.  Here is yet another incident of healing; we can compare it and add it to those in this reading from Friday.  Each comes in its own way.  My study bible says that this healing of the paralytic teaches us that faith is an indispensable condition for salvation.  And we note that faith is collective as well as personal.  This story tell s that the faith of the paralytic's friends helped in his healing.  My study bible points out three signs of Jesus' divinity in today's reading.  First, He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Chronicles 6:30).  Second, He forgives sins, which is a power that belongs to God alone.  Finally, He heals by the power of His word (as in the case of the centurion's servant in the earlier reading).

Today's reading teaches us something about the power of prayer.  We see the influence on Christ because of the connection made by the power of faith in this paralyzed man's friends.  Not only that, but the first -- and really controversial -- element of this story is the forgiveness of sins.  It is the power of God's forgiveness that is given here in response to the faith of this man's friends (we note the text tells us this happens "when He saw their faith").   It's quite moving to think about what this teaches us about prayer.  Paralysis is frequently seen in traditional commentary as a parallel to sin.  We get "stuck" in places, unable to move forward in some sense.  Our behavior includes a pattern we repeat that may be destructive or unhealthful.  We learn ways to behave that aren't necessarily good for us or others.  Perhaps they come out of selfishness or convenience or attempts at manipulation.  It can be extremely hard to truly change.  Patterns of addiction fall into such a picture, complex as they are.  Even those for whom repentance is difficult or impossible can be prayed for.  By the tradition of the Church, it is the prayers of others that avail those in hell.  In the Orthodox tradition, hell is rather a state of mind than a place.  The same fire of God's love that inflames the saints is the fire that scorches when we can't unburden ourselves of sin, things we need to cast off or give up that obstruct that love.  (See this reading for Jesus' images of casting away habits that cause sin in our lives.)    Faith is such a powerful connection to Christ that even the faith of community can sustain and help where an individual cannot help themselves. Today's reading gives us a perfect analogy to that.  Sometimes prayer is all we can do, when we are dependent upon others to help resolve what is seemingly an insoluble situation or circumstance.  That is also a case of being "stuck" -- relationships between individuals, within families, and whole communities can also resemble a kind of paralysis of sin, selfish or self-centered behavior that damages and abuses relationship.   The Gospels teach us that the power of prayer and faith can reach into all of these circumstances, giving us a capacity for practicing love even when face to face communication is not possible nor available.  It's the connection that we make to God's love that links to ways of the heart, hidden means we don't necessarily know, or surprising opportunities for change and growth we can't foresee.   It is faith that makes this connection to Christ, bringing the possibility of healing even where other communication is broken or unavailable.  What do you need to pray about today?  Are there those you can help with prayer and love?  Even for the seemingly unreachable or hopeless situation, prayer remains a way we can practice and live our faith in God's love.  Let us note we can turn to others for help with our prayer -- "friends" here is plural.  This is what faith community is for.  And within the living tradition of the communion of saints, we always have help with prayer, even when we think we're alone with our problem.  Everything may not turn out as we hope.  Healing is also a question of acceptance and the heart of each person.  Christ's intervention always -- as in today's reading -- creates a time of choice.  But healing comes to us nevertheless in the love and righteousness which is always open to us, the participation in this kingdom He brings with His word and presence.

Which is easier, to say, "Your sins are forgiven you," or to say, "Arise and walk"?

 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, we were told that when Jesus and the disciples had come to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?  Have You come here to torment us before the time?"  Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."  And He said to them, "Go."  So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine.  And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.  Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.  And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

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.  Jesus and the disciples return to His own city, which is Capernaum -- home to several disciples, and Jesus' ministry "headquarters" is Peter's family house.  Paralysis is often seen as a spiritual metaphor for a state of sinfulness:  we become "stuck" in a place of error or sin.  My study bible suggests that this story shows that faith is an indispensable condition for salvation.   Faith is also something interactive, working something like a network between people, and it can be collective as well as personal -- here the faith of the friends of the paralytic helps in his healing.  This is why prayer for one another is powerful, and may include those living among the "great cloud of witnesses" such as saints and angels.   In this experience, faith is held by no barriers -- neither time nor space restrict its work and effects.  Here in today's reading, there are three signs present that point to Jesus' divinity.  He knows the secrets of hearts (1 Samuel 16:7, 2 Chronicles 6:30), He forgives sins -- a power which belongs to God alone, and He heals by the power of His word. 

What is paralysis?  How should we think of it?  As noted above, "sin" is traditionally seen as akin to a kind of paralysis.  We get "stuck" in someplace, some way of thinking, some habit that isn't really good for us, even a way of being in the world.  Faith, in my experience, is always a journey of forward movement and change; learning new things.  Jesus' powerful work here includes the work of forgiveness.  This gives us a particular perspective on moving forward and out of sin that we might not think about normally.  We think of being stuck in sin as a place where we need some self-correction.  But what role does forgiveness play?  It is also possible to be to stuck on sin oneself:  morbidly guilty about something that isn't necessarily our fault, stuck in self-punishment rather than turning to God.  Sometimes our own blindness keeps us in this place:  fear of guilt keeps us from asking God for forgiveness and being honest about our past shortcomings.  These are tricky kinds of temptations that work against our spiritual health and well-being, and work their way into physical ailment.  We can be stuck also in anger and helplessness; I have found a hidden need to forgive oneself for one's own limitation in order to let the anger go.  In such a circumstance, holding onto anger is also a form of avoiding God's response and answer to the dilemma in which we are stuck.  Many well-meaning people think it's their job to fix the world, but I don't think Christ gives us this assignment.  Paralysis can come in so many forms; sometimes just acceptance of God's grace for wherever we are and whatever the circumstances in which we find ourselves is the truly holistic answer to what ails us, and the accompanying stress that results in physical ill health as well.  Mercy heals and resolves so much; sometimes we are our own worst enemies in our refusal to accept its power at work in us and for us.  A true friend is one who helps us get to that place of faith.

Arise and walk

 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 and the disciples had come to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.  And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?  Have You come here to torment us before the time?"  Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."  And He said to them, "Go."  So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine.  And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.  Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.  And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

  So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.  In this context, Jesus' "own city" is Capernaum, which served as His ministry headquarters.

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.  My study bible tells us:  "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 friends is required for his healing, and the saving faith of the paralytic impresses the multitudes.  Three signs of Jesus' divinity are shown:  (1)  He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Chr. 6:30); (2) He grants the forgiveness of sins, a power which belongs to God alone; and (3) this healing is performed merely by the power of His word."

In today's reading we note some important things about this healing.  First of all, Jesus is back in the Jewish community, as attested by the presence of the scribes.  So there is an important community context, as opposed to the events of the Gergesene demoniacs in yesterday's reading.  Secondly, in this community, a man's friends or loved ones bring him to Jesus.  He's a paralytic and cannot walk for himself.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus Himself went -- journeying across the Sea of Galilee into a strange Gentile territory -- to heal and cast out demons from the two men.  But here in the Jewish community, it is the faith of community that is at work, and which impresses Jesus.  It's the faith of those who bear the paralytic that impresses Him enough to say, "Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you."  In both cases (yesterday's and today's readings) there is an oppression that is lifted.  But here, the circuit of faith is made through those who will help this paralytic man.  As my study bible points out, Jesus knows the critical thoughts in the hearts of some of the scribes, and so He goes one step further -- and this is a great indicator of the "community" nature of this healing.  That step further is for the scribes, and the whole of the Jewish community, "that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins."  In yesterday's reading, He had power "on earth" -- even in the Gentile territory -- to cast out the demons.  Here in community, against the expectations and assumptions of the expert religious figures of the scribes, He has power on earth to forgive sins.  He is heaven come to earth, God's power at work in our world.  Moreover, He has the power to give the paralytic the gift of his muscles, his legs, his body, so that he can respond to Jesus' command, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  The Greek tells us that the multitude "were afraid" (rather than that they marveled), but this is the type of awe reserved for a display of unknown and unearthly power, so that it overwhelms people with its unknown capacity.  In so many ways, today's reading is about community:  the impact that Jesus makes on a community, taking it -- in some sense -- both beyond its supposed boundaries and expanding its understanding of its own history and values, and illuminating for us the power of community to help when we can't do for ourselves.  In all ways, this expansion and enhancement or illumination is the power of love at work:  others' prayers can help when we are "paralyzed" in any sense of the word, and Jesus' help and power isn't for one person alone, but rather for the whole of the community, in all of its capacity for healing in many dimensions.  Let us remember that love and illumination go together.  These two things embody Jesus' power.