Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven

 

 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

 

- Matthew 5:11-16 

 

In the reading from Saturday, we read of the explosive growth of Christ's ministry, across the territories of Israel and the Jewish communities that surround them, even in Gentile areas.  So already "great multitudes" are following Jesus.  Yesterday we read that, seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.  Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

 

  "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."  My study Bible tells us that those who suffer persecution for Christ walk the same road of the prophets, saints, and martyrs.  The Greek word translated as be exceedingly glad means to "leap exceedingly with joy."  (See Acts 5:40-41.)

 

 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house."  Salt and light are used here by Jesus to illustrate the role of disciples in the society.  My study Bible explains that because of its preservative powers, its necessity for life, and its ability to give flavor, salt had religious and sacrificial significance (Leviticus 2:13; See also Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5).  To eat salt with someone, it notes, meant to be bound together in loyalty.  As the salt of the earth, therefore, faithful Christians are preservers of God's covenant and they give true flavor to the world.   Regarding these images of light, God is the true and uncreated Light.  In the Old Testament, light is symbolic of God (Isaiah 60:1-3), the divine Law (Psalm 119:105), and Israel in contrast to all the other nations.  In the New Testament, moreover, the Son of God is called "light" (John 1:4-9, 8:12; 1 John 1:5).  My study Bible says that light is necessary both for clear vision and also for life itself.  So, faith relies on this divine light, and believers become "sons of light" (John 12:36; 1 Thessalonians 5:5), who shine in a perverse world (Philippians 2:15).  In many Orthodox parishes, the Pascha (Easter) Liturgy begins with a candle being presented, and the faithful are invited to "come receive the Light which is never overtaken by night."

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  Of this verse, my study Bible notes that Christian virtues have both a personal and public function, for our virtue can bring others to glorify the Father.  

Salt and light seem to serve several important functions.  As Jesus has given us both of them, we may assume that both are necessary for us to understand and to follow in our own lives as disciples of Christ.  Salt speaks of covenant, loyalty, a kind of steadfastness to a pledge and a relationship.  It asks us for our firm bond to Christ, through thick and thin, through good times and bad.  Jesus also emphasizes its flavoring qualities, which are essential everywhere in cuisine.  Salt has that flavor property that universally adds to whatever it is one uses it on.  (If there is any doubt that this is also true of sweet foods, let it be known that many salt watermelon and also apples.   In some sweet foods, it is a kind of balancing agent, again enhancing flavor.)  In the ancient world, salt was necessary -- as my study Bible points out -- for preservative power before refrigeration was available.  Believers, therefore, in this context, are valuable to God as those who are loyal and steadfast, and also as those who "flavor" the earth with its enhancing power.  Light, of course, has long been an image of God.  From the pillar of fire that illumined the way for the Israelites following Moses in the night, to the halos of the saints and angels, and manifest in the light of the Transfiguration, light is an unshakable image of God and God's energies at work in the world.  Beyond that, the light of the Lord is said to illuminate our path through a difficult world, beset with paradoxical choices and dilemmas and temptations, half-truths and heresies.  Jesus spoke of Himself as Lord to the people, just prior to the events of Holy Week, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going" (John 12:35-36).  So God is Light (John 1:5), the grace of God (God's energies in the world) is light, and yet another property of that light is that it is shared with us, and we also may bear it into the world (Acts 2:3).  Jesus speaks of a lampstand because in the ancient world, light was given through fire, through torches and lamps which burned oil, so we must understand all instances of fire to be also giving us images of this light.  In fact, the verb "to shine" in the Greek of the Gospel is λάμπω/lampo.  Not only may we be gifted by the bearing of this light ourselves, but through our own faithfulness, Christ asks us to participate in the work of grace:  "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."   What are these "good works?"  Well, they are undoubtedly related to the fruit of the Spirit, which St. Paul teaches is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control," and for which he adds, "Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).  In living these qualities, and bearing this fruit, we let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.  

 

We have seen strange things today!

 

Healing the Paralytic, fresco, 14th century.  Visoki Dečani Serbian Orthodox Monastery

And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately the leprosy left him.  And he charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."  However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.  And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.  When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say,'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"

 

- Luke 5:12–26 

 

Yesterday we read that, as the multitude pressed about Jesus to hear the word of God, He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.  Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.  

And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately the leprosy left him.  Leprosy, my study bible explains, was one of the most dreaded diseases of the time.  It brought great physical suffering as well as total banishment and isolation from society.  It is also symbolic of our sin.  

And he charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."  However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.  According to commentary by St. Cyril of Alexandria, Christ gives the healed leper the command to "show yourself to the priest" in order to convince the priests by a tangible miracle that He is superior to Moses.  The priests hold Moses to be greater than Christ, yet Christ heals a leper immediately and with His own divine authority.  But when Miriam (the sister of Moses) was struck with leprosy, Moses had to seek mercy from above, and still she was only healed after seven days (Numbers 12:10-15).  Let us also make note of Jesus' response to the greater demands placed upon Him by the great multitudes that start to gather to Him after the healing of the leper:  He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.   Matthew's Gospel indicates that this story takes place in Capernaum (Matthew 9:1).  By now He is so well-known that the religious leaders from all over Israel are coming to hear Him:  Pharisees and teachings of the law . . . who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  They are, in some sense, the regulators of the faith, and they come to see and hear Christ's ministry for themselves.

And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.  And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.  When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say,'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"  My study bible comments that, as shown by the healing of the paralytic, faith is an indispensable condition for salvation.  It notes, importantly, that faith is collective as well as personal, as it is the faith of the friends of the paralytic which helped in his healing ("When He saw their faith . . .").   There are three signs of Jesus' divinity which are shown in this story.  First, He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7, 2 Chronicles 6:30).   Second, Jesus forgives sins, which is a power that belongs to God alone, as the scribes and Pharisees say.  Finally, Christ heals by the power of His words:  "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." 

 

 I am intrigued by the people's response.  The text says, "And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"  That's quite a combination of reactions:  they were all amazed, they glorified God, and they were filled with fear.  How does a person experience all of those things at once?  This is the reaction to Jesus and His extraordinary display of healing power -- He heals the paralytic with a command, a word.  Hidden in this particular healing is the revelation of Christ as the Logos, the One who heals with a word, who gives a command and it must be followed.  Even the demons, we've read, are subject to Christ's commands not to speak (see this reading).  We can't necessarily discern which specific elements in today's reading caused the people to be amazed, or to glorify God, or to be filled with fear.  But this combination of all three is not unusual for Jesus.   While we are used to hearing the stories of the healings done by Jesus, we must take these effects in the people as telling us whatever Jesus is doing is not "normal" at all!  It is not expected, it is unanticipated, unheard of.  And then we come to the people's interesting expression:  "We have seen strange things today!"  It sounds a little bit tame in English, especially to stir up such an extraordinary combination of reactions.  But the Greek word translated as "strange things" actually implies that bizarrely contradictory combination of emotional responses by the people.  This word is "παράδοξα/paradoxa" -- which, clearly enough, is the word from which we derive the English word "paradox."  And a paradox is precisely what Jesus is:  hence, the responses that seem to contradict themselves, for this is the logic of paradox.  Strong's Concordance gives the definition of the Greek word as "contrary to opinion or expectation," and this usage continues in modern Greek as well.  It defines something that is outside of experience, contradictory to expectations, bizarre, and, yes, strange.   Those contradictory responses of the people:  to be amazed, to want to glorify God, and also to be filled with fear, all tell us a story about how strange and paradoxical their experience of Jesus is, for all of these things are contained in the reality of Jesus and the effects of the manifestation of Jesus' power, authority, and holiness in the world.  Everything intersects in Him and in what He does in ways that are simply outside of "normal" human experience.  It cannot be explained by anything we know, in ways we understand.  Possibly our own acceptance that Christ's work and presence will always be paradoxical is something important that we need to remember, and to keep in mind when we read the Gospels.  The healings and spectacularly paradoxical "works" that Jesus does are not performed in order to entertain, to make us wonder, to impress us with magic tricks, or for any other reason besides Christ's response to faith.  The presence of the holy and extraordinary is there in Jesus, for He is, as the demon identified Him, the Holy One of God.  He is the Christ, the Son of God.  He is the Logos.  These works of Christ are all "signs" of that reality, and hence they are paradoxical and strange to us.  We live in an age of all kinds of paradoxical and strange developments which can be explained through science, technology, psychology, communications, and a whole host of factors we have come to expect when we analyze events and new developments.   We are so used to being able to "rationally" explain the events of our world using particular types of analysis that many people have simply decided that the holy and extraordinary -- what we might call the spiritual world -- simply doesn't exist at all.  But anyone who has had their own experience of the holy knows that this cannot be the case, for an encounter that drives us to faith still cannot be explained away by our reasonable expectations and analysis.  Simply the fact of consciousness itself, the tendency for human beings to replace  proper worship with quite inappropriate objects of worship and "worshipful" behaviors, in this period of chucking aside the concept of holiness and its paradoxical nature, has prompted many modern thinkers to rethink atheism -- as it becomes more clear that throwing away the spiritual results in serious social and personal problems.  Let us understand our need for God, and that God and holiness come of necessity with mystery:  with things that cannot be explained away outside of the paradoxical and extraordinary.  Let us remember what it means to find the presence and work of God in the world, and in ourselves.

 

 

And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God

 

 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.  They will scourge Him and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.

Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.  And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God.  And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

 

- Luke 18:31–43 

 

Yesterday we read that people also brought infants to Jesus that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.  But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"  And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."  So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing.  Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when he hard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.  And when Jesus saw that he become very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!  For 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 those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?"  But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."   

 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.  They will scourge Him and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.   This is the third prediction Jesus has made to the disciples about His Passion, and all the rest of what is going to happen in Jerusalem, as they approach the city.  Let us notice how Jesus frames His warning:  that all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  That is, what He frames here for the disciples is going to happen in the context of the fulfillment of the Scriptures, what has been prophesied about the Messiah.  That is, not because of the prophesies, but rather in fulfillment of what has been foreseen through the Holy Spirit "who spoke through the prophets" (Nicene Creed; Hebrews 1:1).  My study bible comments that the saying was hidden to the disciples because they could not comprehend its meaning until after the events of the Passion had taken place.  

Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.  And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God.  And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.  The blind man greets Jesus with a Messianic title, Son of David.  Let us note his persistence, despite all of the attempts of the crowd  to tell him that he should be quiet.  This has the opposite effect on him, he simply cried out all the more.  If we think about our recent readings, this blind man is realistically adopting the position which Jesus taught the disciples about prayer, that it should be persistent.  In the words of the Gospel (in this reading and the teaching of Christ's parable about prayer), that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.  It seems this blind man knows something about the Son of David that the rest of the crowd going before him do not.  In an illustration of the truth of Jesus' parable in that reading from Friday we've just noted, Jesus hears him, stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  Let us note that Jesus tells him, "Your faith has made you well."  Our persistence in prayer, even in not following the crowds and what others would say, is clearly marked out by Jesus as a sign of faith.  My study bible says that although Jesus knows what we want before we ask, He calls us to ask freely in order to learn of His mercy.  There is also a traditional spiritual interpretation of this miracle; in it, the blind man symbolizes the future generations who will come to faith only by hearing, without having the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  In each generation there will be persecutors and tyrants who try to silence the Church, and shut down the faith of believers.  But nevertheless, under persecution, we all the more confess Jesus Christ.  Let us note the blind man's correct response:  He followed Christ on His journey toward Jerusalem, glorifying God.  All the people note his thanksgiving, and gave praise to God in response.

It's interesting to see in the Gospels the fickleness of the crowds, and in this story in particular, that sends us a deep message.  We noted at first how it was the crowds who tried to silence the plea (or prayer) of the blind man.  It is because he does not follow what the crowds tell him that the man continues to plead for Christ's help, and shows persistence in his prayer and in his faith in appealing to Jesus.  In the end, it is the whole crowd, "all the people," the text tells us, who gave praise to God in response to the blind man's glorious healing by Christ.  If he had not been persistent, this man who refused to listen to all the voices in his hearing, would not have had his sight restored, nor would all the people be praising God.  It tells us something that the crowds in the Gospels are so often simply fickle at best, and at other times are downright wrong.  In the words of my study bible, "the crowds follow the crowds."  It is not to popular belief or superstition, or rumor, or gossip, or whatever other means by which we hear from all those voices in our ears, that we turn to find truth.  We turn to the Person who is the Truth (John 14:6).  We turn to the wisdom built up and understood through that Person who is Truth and those who serve that truth, and we turn to our faith.  We turn, as Christ has taught us, to persistence in our faith -- even when it looks like we are the fools in the eyes of the crowd.  But if there is anything we're taught in today's story, it is that the fool in the crowd by the side of the road is the only one who knows he's blind, and the only one who knows where to turn and how to turn to the One who can restore his sight.  And so, we have the perfect metaphor for what so many faithful feel in a world that thinks so often it is doing just fine without divine help.  If we understand that there are things we are blind to, that there are ways in which we need help and healing, that our lives need something therapeutic that might be missing from "worldly" life -- then we are the ones on our way to sight, even when we might look like we're fools to others.  The first step in any journey of healing is waking up to your own blindness, to the things that aren't perfect about which you might just be in denial, and realizing what it is you need help with.  Your symptoms might go unnoticed without a diagnosis, but who goes to the doctor when they think they are not sick?  Our attention to our prayer, our faith, and that Person who is Truth is the way we find what we need to change, the dangers we could be headed toward, the way forward that is the way of healing and wholeness.  And that is found in persistence in prayer, in worship, in the things we need that are the structures of our faith.  Jericho is often symbolic of sin in Scripture, in both Old and New Testaments.  It is, in that sense, symbolic of the world which may be permeated with dangers and evil even when all the crowd has no idea what this means, and may even confuse evil with good at times.  What we do is build our lives around the Savior and Deliverer, the Son of David, who will always tell us the truth, no matter what we might rather hear -- and it is that good news of His gospel that heals and saves.

He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed

 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately the leprosy left him.  And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."  However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.  And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.  When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"  -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"

- Luke 5:12-26

Yesterday, we read that, as the multitude pressed about Jesus to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.  Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

  And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately the leprosy left him.  My study bible says that "leprosy was one of the most dreaded diseases of the time.  It brought great physical suffering as well as total banishment and isolation from society.  It is also a symbol of our sin."  

And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."  My study bible, citing Cyril of Alexandria, says that Christ gives the command, Show yourself to the priest, in order to convince the priests by a tangible miracle that He is superior to Moses.  It says, "The priests hold Moses to be greater than Christ, yet Christ heals a leper immediately and with His own divine authority.  However, when Miriam was struck with leprosy, Moses had to seek mercy from above, and still she was only healed after seven days (Numbers 12:10-15)."

However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.  As Jesus' fame and renown grows, He is continually sought out, and made requests of.  We see His response:  He takes time more frequently to withdraw and pray.  If even Jesus needed the kind of "timeouts" that drew Him more closely to the Father and the Father's direction, that would renew soul and spirit and an understanding of His mission, then how much more do we need such times?  His example is far more important and essential to our lives than we may understand it to be.  Let us remember this is especially so at times of great and frequent demand upon us.

Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  Jesus' fame has by now increased to such a great point that even the religious rulers are attending to listen to Jesus teaching.  As the passage tells us, they have come from every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.

  And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.  And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.  When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."   The power of faith is at work here, and is mightily present to help Jesus effect the healings that He does.  In other words, faith is an indispensable and undoubtable ingredient present to what happens.  The text tells us, when He saw their faith, the sins of the individual were forgiven.  The man's friends have made every effort to get him to Jesus.   It's interesting that even through the faith of others, help can be brought to an individual, making faith also a collective sort of presence. We note that first, Jesus forgives.  Historically, the Church has seen sin as a kind of spiritual paralysis; it leaves us stuck where we are.  Repentance has traditionally been seen as a way to become unstuck, to be able to move forward.

And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"  -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"   Who can forgive sins but God alone? is the key question here.  As so often happens, it is the critical rulers who inadvertently reveal the truth about Christ.  My study bible says that there are three signs of Jesus' divinity present here:  He knows the secrets of hearts (see 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.  We note the effects of this miraculous healing:  it works to glorify God.

 Jesus' healing, as we said, works to glorify God -- both the healed man and all the people present "glorified God."  It's important to understand how Jesus is at work in the world; what is His purpose.  In this, we tie together His frequent isolation and withdrawal for prayer, despite (or perhaps more accurately, because of) all the demand for His time and attention.  Everything is to God's purposes.  None of this is for personal gain on the part of Jesus.  Indeed, one suspects that perhaps He is far more comfortable while at prayer in the wilderness.  Jesus' whole system of physical functioning in the world is a little mysterious.  At one point, His disciples encourage Him to eat, and He replies, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  (The text has already told us He's weary from travel.)  When the disciples wonder if someone else brought Him something to eat, He explains, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work."  (See the entire chapter of John 4, here.)   The withdrawal for prayer, then, can be seen as a kind of refueling, a time for replenishing.  Obviously, with so much demand upon Him as His fame grows, this need becomes greater and more frequent.  If it is His connection and service to the Father that truly serves as a kind of food for Him, then so much the more does He need time in prayer, for all that He does. This demand never stops for Jesus.  We began in Luke by reading that just before He started His ministry, He withdrew for forty days, presumably for prayer but also to be tempted by Satan, as part of the preparation for what He is about to undertake.   It is a sign and affirmation of total dependence upon and dedication to the Father.  As His ministry has grown, and as He has more frequently taken time for prayer, so grows the display of healing and forgiveness that glorifies God, as we read in today's reading.  The healing of leprosy, and the forgiveness of sin and healing of paralysis via the efforts of the friends of the paralyzed man, take on spectacular tones as they are done in the presence of the experts in the Law who are present from all over Jewish territory, including from Jerusalem.  They are the ones who regulate religious activity, including, for example, the issuing of a certificate to the healed leper that he may rejoin community.  All of this is to say that we must take a good look at Christ and what He does in order to understand His life in this world, and also to follow His example.  He's not like a Hollywood star or some great music performer who suddenly appears and dazzles with all kinds of well-paid expert publicity and effects, and a machine that grinds out "image" nonstop in order to keep those profits coming.  Jesus is first of all a Man who serves God, and not only serves but dwells in that place of relationship to God -- taking increasingly more time alone in the wilderness and far from all these public demands in order to pray.  This is the focus of His life and His orientation in life.  Perhaps the most famous time of prayer is the one recorded for us in the Garden of Gethsemane, the time of great crisis, just before He will be seized by the officers and taken to an illegal night court.   Let us remember to take this time for ourselves, and "all else will be added unto you."  We take time to seek the Kingdom and its righteousness in order to find our rightful place in the world, a life which includes room for the kingdom and our place as God guides us in the world.  At least, we need the timeouts to make sure we revive that place in ourselves in which we, too, may share the food of Christ, the love of God that nurtures us.