The Healing They Didn't Ask For
I'm recovering from a procedure on my knee, trying to address torn cartilage from a long-ago sports injury. I've been on my back a lot this past week, with plenty time to read and think. It's not all bad.
The liturgical year is about to turn from Matthew to Mark, which had me reading ahead. There's a moment in Mark 2 that is stripped of polite religion. Jesus is teaching in a packed house in Capernaum. It's elbow to elbow, and outside, four men are carrying their paralyzed friend on a mat. They can't get through the door, so they climb up and start tearing the roof apart.
Galilean roofs were packed clay and branches. Ripping one open was not a clean operation. It reminds me of helping my grandfather haul hay in the hot Mississippi summers: it's messy, sweat-soaked work that gets everyone around dusty.
These friends didn't care about that. They wanted their friend in front of Jesus. When the man is finally lowered down into the debris-covered room, Jesus doesn't start with the guy's legs. He starts with his soul, and says, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
That's something we all need to hear. Four other ideas stand out to me in the dust of that room.
- Our deepest need itsn't always the one we bring. The friends came seeking working legs. Jesus didn't ignore the man's body, but he addressed the whole person first. Jesus lifted the unseen weight.
- Faith is often carried by others. Mark notes that Jesus "saw their faith." The man on the mat could not get there alone! There are seasons in life when we are the ones carrying friends to grace, and there are times we are the ones being borne up by friends.
- Jesus does what only God can do. The scribes sitting in the room were scandalized. Their theology was actually very sound: only God can forgive sins. Their only mistake was failing to recognize that God was sitting right in front of them, covered in the dusty mess of humanity's making.
- Grace makes a mess. Getting to Jesus and getting to wholeness required tearing something apart. Faith often looks like holy disruption. Sometimes we must remove by force whatever barriers stand in the way between people and wholeness.
Jesus calls this marginalized outsider, "Son." He offers him total belonging, and then, in an act of sheer grace and brilliance, showing he does indeed have authority to forgive, says to him, "You guys are done here. You've opened up a lot of closed things. I'll try to do the same. Run along, and, oh, don't forget your mat."
The man who was carried in walks out. What a remarkable gospel lesson in mid-afternoon.
Speaking of Tearing Things Apart
Managing a website can get messy, especially if you've never done it before, like me. I've got close to 200 liturgies and several hundred bible study articles. I'm learning as I go, and my best teacher has been my own mistakes. Where does this article go and this about Peter, and that one about Creation Care? On and on it goes.
Earlier this year I began to redesign the site and reoganizing content, which is not as fun as it might sound!
If you've visited the site recently, hopefully you've noticed an imiprove.
Liturgy This past week, whilst on my back, I finally finished reorganizing the liturgy section. Now, you can search by the visual calendar, making it easy to find your Sunday. I mean, who even remembers what a Proper 12 is?!!
I also included a companion that sits beside the calendar. It's for those who are working ahead. It should auto-update to the next 2-3 Sundays and seasons. Some of you are working on Epiphany, which boggles my mind!
The Liturgy Resource Page is here.
The Sermons Resource Page is here. There are 20+ Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany sermons there, I've writen and preached over the years. I share it to spark ideas, because the work is sometimes hard.
If you notice something not working, it's my fault. Email me and let me know, and I'll try to get it remedied asap.
Thanks for subscribing,
Jason
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