A Trick Question

There is a story in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 2, about a man who is paralyzed. Four of his friends carry him on a stretcher or sorts to the house where Jesus is preaching. When they arrive they find the house full to overflowing and they are unable to get close to Jesus. So they climb up on the roof dismantel the roof covering and lower their friend down into the room to get their friend to Jesus. Jesus recognizes their faith and says to the paralyzed man "Son , your sins are forgiven you." Some scribes (teachers of the law) think to themselves in their hearts "Why does this man, speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Jesus knows what they are thinking and asks "Which is easier to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven' or 'Arise , take up your bed and walk". Then Jesus heals the man, who gets up, picks up his stretcher and walks out. Everyone was left gawking and saying "We have never seen anything like this!"

This is an exciting story! It's filled with lots of dramatic elements. First there's the buzz among the crowd the fills and spills out of the house. Some like the the scribes, are skeptics there with the intent of finding evidence that will discredit Jesus. Some, like the paraylitic and his friends are there because they have a need and hope for something from Jesus. Others I'm sure are just plain curious. A few perhaps are already believers. This assembly of people is like a little cross section of all humanity, most people will fall into one of these categories even today.

The four friends exhibit a great deal of determination. When they see the crowd which keeps them from Jesus they are not discouraged, they perservere by taking radical action. It's interesting to note that Jesus calls this determination, perserverance and radical action "faith". That's what he wants to see in us. I'm trying to imagine this scene taking place in my church. It's unlikely that someone could come through the roof, but the window is a possibility or even more likely someone could go down to the basement and come up through the baptismal pool. If that happened during a sermon I can tell you it would cause plenty of commotion and I'm pretty certain that's what happened in the house where Jesus was preaching! I can hear the tongues wagging LOL

Now comes the tricky part. Jesus tells the paralytic his sins are forgiven. I'm guessing that's not what the four friends or this poor man had in mind. They were looking for physical healing. But Jesus begins by forgiving his sins. The scribes, though they don't openly confront Jesus, never the less object in their hearts and minds. Then Jesus asks the trick question. Which is harder to forgive sins or to physically heal a paralytic??? Hmmmm...good question! If you believe in a good and righetous God (as the scribes did) and you recognize humanities sinfulness and the inevitability of standing in judgement before God (as the scribes did) then forgiving someones sins would be impossible for a mere human being, God alone could do that. On the other hand it's pretty easy to "say" your sins are forgiven, how could you prove that, who could verify it or disprove it?? Then there's this matter of healing. Healing would require command of, and authority over, the natural law of the universe something only God would possess. Further physical healing would be verifiable, the healed person and the eyewitnesses could give their testimony about what they experienced and saw. So which is easier? Neither! Both spiritual healing through the forgiveness of sins and physical healing can be accomplished by God alone. The physical healing being the outward sign of what has taken place in the soul.

Ah, but what about those who have come to Jesus for forgiveness but still retain their physical sufferings. Does that prove their sins weren't really forgiven. I should say not! Anyone who has experienced Jesus forgivness knows it's real, the Holy Spirit bears witness to that in the persons heart and soul. It might be hard to "prove" that forgiveness has taken place to another person, but you as the recipient of forgivenss would know it without any uncertainity. If physical maladies remain you can be certain the God has a plan and a purpose to use them for your ultimate good. Remember St. Paul had a "thorn in the flesh" which he asked God repeatedly to remove and God said, "No, my grace is sufficient for thee". That is a possibility for us. But we also have the example of the four friends and their determination, perserverance and radical action. Along with Jesus command to "ask, seek and knock" we can continue to petition Jesus in faith and hope knowing that he hears our prayers and loves us more than we can know and imagine. Remember Jesus viewed that kind of perserverance as "faith" and rewarded it with both forgivenss and healing. Don't give in to despair or despondancy...keep the flame of faith alive through prayer and meditation on God's word. Healing may come when you least expect it, and God's all sufficient grace is available always to see you through.

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