Mark: The Lord Forgives
[Index] [Introduction]
Monday, March 10, 2003
1. Additional Scriptural readings suggested: Mark 3:1-6; Matthew 7:24-29
2. A short reading:
"Show me your ways, 0 Lord,
and teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
in you have I trusted all the day long."
Psalm 25:3-4, Book of Common Prayer)
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3. Text for meditation (in Italics):
2:1 When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that
he was at home. 2 So many gathered around that there -was no longer
room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the
word to them. 3 Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed
man, carried by four of them. 4 And when they could not bring him to
Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after
having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins
are forgiven."
4. Reflections: You noticed Mark calls Capernaum "home" for Jesus. Perhaps this small
village became a place where our Lord lived as He went out to other places to preach the
"good news" of the kingdom of God. Jesus certainly knew His way around the territory
of Galilee. He had probably fished in the Sea of Galilee many times Himself. The text
suggests that our Lord was very popular early in His ministry. I guess He was, with the
wonderful miracles He was doing, and the excellent teachings He was giving.
The construction of the sentence tells us that so many people were packed into the
house that they spilled out into the doorway and even the front yard. People were flocking
to hear the Lord. You should know that the house was likely small, with a low ceiling. The
house probably had a flat roof constructed of logs or planks chinked with a kind
of mud plaster. How impossible it must have looked to those carrying the paralyzed man;
how could they get to Jesus with all those people! If they had only been earlier! Yet
their determination saved the day-or the man! The lesson is that we must never give up;
we can find the Lord.
Some think the parents of the paralyzed man were in the group that brought him
to Jesus. At any rate, they took him to the roof by way of the stairs on the side of the
house (typical of the time). Determining where Jesus was, the men moved the clay and
logs so as to create an opening. At some point the Lord must have stopped teaching and
looked up to see what was going on. Then, probably with ropes, the paralyzed man was
lowered the short distance to Jesus. Everyone must have been transfixed. The Lord
looks at the man, speaks to him with an endearing term ("My son" -- or child), your sins
are forgiven." How gentle the Lord was with this man. Can you imagine with what hope
the paralyzed man looked at Jesus? The Lord was going to do more for him than he
could have hoped for. He was going to be healed body and soul.
5. Questions raised today for personal reflection:
Can you imagine the great heart Jesus has toward people who suffer? Throughout His
ministry, the Lord wanted to reach out to everyone with gentleness. He spoke
works of kindness, putting people at ease in His presence. He was -- and is -- the essence of
forgiveness. He is always approachable. Think how gentle Jesus is toward you. When
you come with your needs. He addresses you as His child. His needy one. How could He
turn you away?
We don't always know what we really need, do we? No doubt this paralyzed man
was tightly focused on his problem, what he may have thought was his main problem.
He could not care for himself but depended on others. But when Jesus saw him. He saw
something else, something deeper. So what does the Lord say first to the man? "Your
sins are forgiven." More than he needed healing of body, the man needed healing of soul.
And what is more important, the body or the soul? What is more important to you?
6. Suggestions for prayer: We should thank God for His kindness to us, and to everyone
who will listen to Him. Sometimes we think of God as being harsh, but here we see Him
in Jesus as extremely gentle. We also know people who are suffering in body and perhaps
in soul as well. We need to pray for their well being and that God would tend to
their deepest needs, whatever they are. We also need to pray that God will help us at the
point of our deepest need.
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