“One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.”
(Luke 5:17-19)
Imagine this scene. Religious officials from “every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem,” packed in together like sardines and craning to hear the words of Jesus of Nazareth. This was less an intimate gathering than a veritable convention. I’m guessing the place they were gathered had standing room only—and maybe not even that. Now imagine the reaction of the Pharisee in the middle of the crowd, listening intently, when the sky starts falling on him. Literally. Chunks of roof crumble, and those below the hole being cut into the roof cough as dirt, dust and debris rain down on their heads. Before they can even really grasp what is happening, they see a man being lowered down through the roof on a mat that comes to rest on the ground in front of Jesus. Every eye is fixed on this spectacle of an interruption. A murmur of confusion and indignation runs through the crowd. Those close to the action recognize the man as a paralytic. The man himself seems to be trying to disappear, shrinking into his mat in terror and embarrassment. He looks up at his friends, who still hold onto the ropes by which they lowered his mat. They smile to give him courage, and turn their eyes to Jesus, who has followed the paralytic’s gaze upward and is looking intently at the hopeful faces peering down:
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’” (Luke 5:20).
Truly radical love will take desperate measures. Who were the friends of the paralytic man? We don’t learn their names, their stories, or even how many there were. Though we know nothing else about these friends, we know that they loved radically. Their love for their paralyzed friend (and their desire for his healing) knew no bounds. No doubt they had carried him a great distance, maybe even miles, to see Jesus. When they finally arrived, they found themselves at the back of a sea of people already gathered. Determined, the friends—still carrying their buddy on the mat—“tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.” This must have been nearly impossible. If you’ve ever pushed your way through a crowded airport carrying a suitcase, you can imagine how stressful and difficult it would be to attempt to part a sea of people while carrying…a person! Maybe the friends were discouraged, but they didn’t quit. “When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd.” Stop here. WHAT?! This is drastic. This can’t have been plan A, or even plan B—I’m thinking more like plan D or E. This group of friends risked the wrath of the “religious establishment” by stirring the pot so radically during a gathering of religious officials. We’ve all heard people say: “where there’s a will, there’s a way,” but I think this only works when the one with the will is desperate and ready to take drastic measures. These friends found a way because they loved this man enough to go to extreme lengths to seek his healing. This is radical love in action.
The actions of the friends of the paralytic man also point to their radical faith in Jesus. They must have truly believed that Jesus had the power to heal, or they certainly would not have gone to so much trouble to present their friend before him for this purpose. And ultimately, it is their faith which heals their friend. The scripture tells us that: “when Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’” Healing spiritually before He heals physically, Christ sets the standard for us to prioritize likewise, spirit before flesh. Jesus reveals how radically He loves sinners by crediting the faith of the friends on behalf of their companion as his own righteousness.
I pray that we all may love our friends (and others) radically enough to take desperate measures to lay them at the feet of Jesus for healing. I pray also that this story might encourage us to be unafraid to live in radical love, and eager to go to desperate measures to glorify the King of radical love, whose own desperate measures resulted in the salvation in which we now stand!
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”(Galatians 5:6)
Thanks for this reflection, Rachel. Particularly significant for me was the priority of the spiritual over the physical....while we sometimes do have to take care of someone's physical needs first, we need to keep in our hearts the more ultimate concern with spiritual welfare. You made this event come alive!
ReplyDelete