January
18, 2013
Today's
gospel, Mark
2:1-12
When Jesus returned to Capernaum
after some days, it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so
that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he
preached the word to them. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by
four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the
roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which
the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him, “Child,
your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking
themselves, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God
alone can forgive sins?” Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were
thinking to themselves, so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your
hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or
to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son
of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”–he said to the paralytic, “I say
to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.” He rose, picked up his mat at
once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded and
glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
I have never known quite what to make of the question of the forgiveness of sins in this passage, or what the 'easier' is supposed to mean. In preaching it, therefore, I have usually tended to shift the focus to the four men who carry the paralytic and break through the roof in order to get him in front of Jesus. That's a challenging image of Christian friendship, I say, exerting ourselves and even doing what is outrageous in order to get a friend into the presence of Jesus. Fine, it's a clever thought, and it makes for a nice little homily. Nevertheless, I was happy to find in Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives a beautiful reflection on the aspects of the passage that I have never known how to understand, and which are certainly more important:
The paralytic needed to be able to
walk, not to be delivered from his sins. The scribes criticized the theological
presumption of Jesus' words: the sick man and those around him were
disappointed, because Jesus had apparently overlooked the man's real
need.
I consider this whole scene to be of key significance for
the question of Jesus' mission, in the terms with which it was first described
in the angel's message to Joseph. ["...you shall call his name Jesus, for
he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21] In the passage
concerned, both the criticism of the scribes and the silent expectation of the onlookers
is acknowledged. Jesus then demonstrates his ability to forgive sins by
ordering the sick man to take up his pallet and walk away healed. At the same
time, the priority of forgiveness for sins as the foundation of all true
healing is clearly maintained.
Man is a relational being. And if his first, fundamental
relationship is disturbed--his relationship with God--then nothing else can be
truly in order. This is where the priority lies in Jesus' message and ministry:
before all else, he wants to point man toward the essence of his malady, and to
show him--if you are not healed there, then however many good things you
may find, you not truly healed.
It is from carrying poorly the
injuries to our spiritual heart that we fall into the worst kinds of violence
and disregard for ourselves and one another, but it also through their healing
in forgiveness that we become free to love.
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