Thoughts for the Day

And after getting into a boat he crossed the water and came to his own town.

And just then some people were carrying a paralysed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’ Then some of the scribes said to themselves, ‘This man is blaspheming.’ But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and walk”? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he then said to the paralytic—‘Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.’ And he stood up and went to his home. When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Yesterday we looked at the idea that demons were thought to exist everywhere and were a danger to people, and that sickness was thought to be the result of demon possession. Now in our reading from Matthew's Gospel we confront another belief, that all sickness indicates the existence of sin in a person.

Jesus has returned by boat from the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee to what had become his home town, Capernaum. It was here that Simon Peter lived and where Jesus had recruited his first four disciples. Nazareth was only 20 miles away as the crow flies, but Capernaum was the base for the start of his ministry. He has comes back for a rest, but the crowds of people still follow him. Among them comes a paralysed man carried on a bed by some friends. This story appears in all three Synoptic Gospels, but Mark and Luke mention that the friends lower him down through a hole in the roof in order to get to Jesus (Mark 2.1-12, Luke 5.17-26).

All those in the crowd would have assumed that the paralysed man had committed some terrible sin and would have shunned him. In his compassion Jesus deals with this first, and in doing so highlights the holistic nature of healing, which speaks to us today. If we have ever been burdened by guilt and shame for a sin committed in the past, or if we have noticed how sickness affects us both physically and spiritually so that we turn inward becoming self centred, then we will understand why Jesus offers him forgiveness which comes with physical and spiritual healing. His faith, and that of his friend's faith, brings restoration and wholeness.

Lord Jesus Christ,
may we be healed of our spiritual and physical ailments;
may we have the faith to believe we can be healed;
and may we not be the cynical bystanders
who scoff at what possible difference prayer can make;
but instead put more effort into our prayers for ourselves and others,
trusting that our faith is strong enough to overcome any doubt.
Amen.