The Healing of the Paralytic

Tonight the Gospel of Luke chapter five was kind of presented to me unexpectedly.  Although, this is a story I (and probably you) have heard many times it stirred in me new thoughts tonight.  I invite you to read the story and possibly a little slower than you usually might.

Luke 5:17-26

One day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was with him for healing.  And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set [him] in his presence.  But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus.  When he saw their faith, he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.” Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?”  Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, “What are you thinking in your hearts?   Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”  He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God.  Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today.”

I would like to write what is known as exegesis on this story, which basically means an interpretation, deeper look, or creative application of Scripture.  It does not mean that the interpretation given is the only possible interpretation but simply one way to look at it.

A thought illumined in me about the paralytic himself.  I was struck for the first time thinking about the vulnerability of this man.  He had no strength.  He could not move.  He was suspended in air helplessly and in the middle of a crowed house.  We know that the room was full because the passage talks about how people had come from all over and we know that the friends could not even get through the crowd to present the man who was paralyzed to Jesus.  He was lowered “into the middle in front of Jesus” I imagined that moment and it shook me.  I imagined that the man lying on the floor, in the middle of the room moved, possibly the only part of his body that he could move, his eyes, and looked to Jesus for help.  This person is so vulnerable, his body is lifeless, and he is completely exposed in front of others and disposed in front of Jesus.  I imagined that look of desperation, and honestly, I longed to learn how to look to Jesus like that.  How can I completely surrender myself to my God?  How can I be more vulnerable?  How can I realize more fully that all of my strength and life comes from Jesus?  How am I called to present myself to Jesus in front of others?

Tonight I found myself viewing the friends of the paralytic differently after reading this story tonight.  I realized that these friends had to get creative about how they were going to bring this man into Jesus’ life but more important about how they were going to bring Jesus into this man’s life. They actually got extremely creative and even a little daring.  I mean lowering this guy from the roof?  That’s crazy!  What if, and this is not a joke, they dropped him?  What if their plan went terribly wrong?  Also, this must have been very distracting and disruptive.  The God of the Universe is trying to teach people and meanwhile some person's body is hovering six feet above His head.  It’s an insane portrait once we paint it with a little more detail.  What these friends are revealing to me, especially as a person in ministry, is that I have to be willing to be creative about how I am going to present people to Christ.  Along with that creativity I have to be willing to be bold, courageous, and maybe even daring.  I always have to be willing to take risks and be willing to fail knowing that if I do fail God will help me learn so much through it.  A common thing said to young adults in ministry (most of my friends) is that we cannot change something because the way it is being done is “how it always has been done.”  When we hear that we have to be willing to say, (maybe out loud, maybe just to ourselves) “Well going through the door was once how it had always been done and then some guys decided to come through the roof!”

Another motivating thing about the healing, is that it is not the bare minimum of a healing.  Sometimes we might hope that God will give us just enough to get by but that is not the case.  God loves us abundantly and provides for us so generously if we are willing to receive all of what He is offering. This paralyzed man did not simple wobble to his feet and barely have the ability to stand.  He went from being motionless to “He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God.”  So not only can this gentlemen now stand, he can carry a mat that was big and sturdy enough to support a full grown man.  God does not long to make us a little bit stronger or a little bit holier.  God wants to take what is lifeless in our minds, bodies, and souls and give it great strength and vitality.  God wants to transform us in a way that is powerful, not in a way that is unimpressive, un-astonishing, or unimportant.  The key to that transformation happening is simply how we use our free will and if we are willing to surrender everything to God.

Something else that I have noticed in the past is that Jesus did not heal the paralytic at first, that apparently was not at all the most concerning thing for Him.  Jesus healed souls, He forgave sins. Jesus is God and if He thinks that healing the soul is primary compared to healing the body then HE IS RIGHT.  Our physical health and our physical world is not disconnected from the spiritual but we have in many ways disregarded the reality of our spiritual selves.  The bodies we have will die but our souls will never die.  We will receive our bodies again at the resurrection of the body but if we die before the end of time we will exist as simply a spiritual soul until the resurrection occurs.  A body has its health and a soul has its health.  We must be willing to care for our souls and the best way to do that is the reception of the Sacraments and prayer.  The Sacrament of Confession (aka Reconciliation or Penance) is labeled a healing sacrament because it heals our souls.  The wounds of our souls are discussed beautifully in Fr. Joe Krupp's October 23 homily at this site (no longer there but e-mail me if you want it).  

The last thing I noticed about this story is that it is unclear who’s sins Jesus has even forgiven.  The passage says, “When he saw their faith, he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.”  The word “their” means that multiple people were forgiven of their sins.  It seems that by simply presenting someone else to Jesus these men are forgiven of their sins.  That is consoling as someone who has dedicated their life to such a task.