"Some Stories About Grace: Friends, Forgiveness, Doubt and Awe"Dr.
James L. Mayfield February 23, 2003 Text: Mark 2:1-12 (in worship read Ephesians 2:8-10) Paul wrote: 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God .... (Ephesians 2:8) Today I am going to retell a story that illustrates much of what he meant. As you listen, listen for your story and for insights about God's grace at work in your life. Today's story can be found in the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark. The ministry of Jesus was just getting started, but already he was attracting attention, primarily because he was healing people. In this story Mark tells about a time when people so completely filled the home where Jesus was staying, no one else could get in. While he was talking, helping the people understand what we call the Old Testament, there was noise of people digging through the roof. In those days in that area, most houses were constructed of something like adobe. The roof was supported by beams, that were placed about 3 feet apart. The gap was filled with smaller branches, and a thick layer of clay was placed over the top. It was not unusual for grass to grow on the flat roofs of the homes. Usually there was an outside stairway, leading to the roof, so the residents could go up on the roof in the cool of the day. Jesus was in such a house, when his teaching was interrupted by the noise of some men digging a hole in the roof. Debris began to fall on the people. Those who looked up to see what was happening, probably got dirt in their eyes. At last there was a hole between the beams large enough for a paralyzed man on a blanket to be lowered to the floor in front of Jesus. It was obvious that several people had gotten together to bring this man to him, and when they could not get in the house, they did not give up. They went up the stairs to the roof and dug a hole in it in order to bring their friend to Jesus, so that he might be made whole. A few days ago, I was talking with someone who was interested in knowing about my faith journey. In sharing my story with him, I was made aware, once again, of my great debt to many people. There is a sense in which each of us is brought to Christ by a host of people. Of course I think of my parents and grandparents. I remember Ms. Grace, my kindergarten Sunday School teacher who genuinely cared about me, and played in the sand box with us as we acted out Bible stories using clothes pins for dolls. I remember Glen Johnson, not merely directing the boys choir at church so that we sounded okay, but helped us understand what we were singing. I remember Randall Butler, the Sunday School teacher whose lessons I helped destroy when he tried to teach our junior high Sunday School class. I remember Marcellus Brown, the foreman with whom I lived and worked for three months, clearing hiking trails in the mountains of Kings Canyon National Forest. My list goes on and on and on -- just as yours does. This paralyzed man was brought to Jesus by a host of people, and that is my story also, and I suspect it is yours as well. It is through the community of faith that we are carried along in life until we are at the feet of Jesus. Jesus was aware of the faith of this group of people who had brought him this paralyzed man. Mark writes that it was when Jesus saw their faith that he said to the paralytic: "Son (or My child), your sins are forgiven." Notice what Mark did not write. He did not write that it was when Jesus saw the man's faith that he said: "Your sins are forgiven." It was when he saw the faith of the people who had brought him. It was the faith of the community, Mark says, that motivated Jesus to say to the paralytic: "My child, your sins are forgiven." I believe this was Mark's way of teaching the early Christians the importance of the community of faith. Now let's look at what he said to the paralytic. "Son (or Child) your sins are forgiven." It was not unusual in those days for people -- especially those who were ill or paralyzed - to assume their pain and problems were the result of sin. Like many of us have done when problems and pain have come into our lives, people in Jesus' day would interrogate themselves saying: "What wrong have I done that is causing God to punish me so?" Jesus seeing the paralyzed man, said, in effect: "My child, God is not angry with you; your sin is forgiven." One of the ways we paralyze ourselves is with the blame and shame we pile on ourselves. We may walk around on two feet, but we are paralyzed in regard to being the persons God intends us to be because we are weighed down with deep regret, if not outright feelings of guilt. We do not like ourselves, much less love ourselves, and because of our lack of self-respect, we find it difficult, if not impossible, to respect others, much less love them. It is as though the heart of our soul has stopped beating, and we need C P R of the soul in order for us to become alive again, living as God intends us to live. Jesus said to the man, whom a community of faith had exerted special effort to place at his feet: "Child of God, your sins are forgiven." In proclaiming forgiveness of sin, Jesus was not merely talking about some sort of absolution for deeds done or left undone in the past. In forgiveness, Jesus was declaring new possibility and hope for the present and future. Jesus was declaring freedom from whatever paralyzes us from moving through life as God intends. Of course there were doubters present. There always are. They were thinking: "This man should not say such things. It is blasphemy. Only God can forgive." And in a sense they were correct. But they were also incorrect because they were insensitive to who was saying these words. They could not see that it was the Christ. They saw only a rural rabbi who was said to be able to heal people the way truly holy men of that day did. But they were offended because Jesus dared to tell this paralyzed man his sins were forgiven. There are always those around who are saying to Christ and those who are followers of Christ either: "You can't do that" or: "You shouldn't do that." And as often as not, it is when some kind of significant good is being done, but not being done the way the very religious people think it is supposed to be done. I recognize these folks who were offended by what Jesus said because all too often I have been offended by what he has said. Such as that story Jesus told about the folks who worked the last fifteen minutes getting the same pay as those who worked all day. Such as that story Jesus told about it being easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for people with possessions to get in the kingdom of heaven. Such as that teaching about about loving our enemies, or turning the other cheek. And the list goes on. I understand what those folks were thinking and the way they were feeling. I suspect many of us do. Jesus said to them and to us: "Okay, so you will understand who I am and what I am," Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said: "Pick up your blanket and go home." And the man stood up; picked up his blanket, and went home. Everyone was amazed. We are always amazed whenever people we know are set free from whatever has been paralyzing their ability to live as God intends. When folks pick up their blankets and move on with their lives, it is amazing. The woman consumed by resentment and low self-esteem somehow, someway is given a sense of self-respect and hope and moves on with her life. It is amazing. A man who was paralyzed in an addiction, is set free, picks up his blanket and moves on. It is amazing. If we have lived any time at all and we have had our eyes open, we have seen it happen to person after person. And each time God's grace transforms a life, even though we have seen it happen before, we say what the people in that house said: "We've never seen anything like this!" It is always amazing when we become aware of God's grace at work in life -- through other people, in the lives of other people, and even in our own. "For by grace you have been saved through faith," Paul wrote, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God .... (Ephesians 2:8) God, for all the ways your grace is at work in our lives and the lives of those around us, we give you thanks. Amen. Pastoral prayer: Let us thank God for the gifts and blessings we have received. We have come here with a variety of concerns and problems. God, when our lives feel like overcast days of chilling drizzle, help us remember the sun does shine - even when it is cloudy. When our calm is shattered by the rumbling thunder of approaching storms, make us aware you are with us and that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love you have revealed through Christ. When because of wrong choices and behavior, we have made a mess of things, help us remember the mercy Jesus showed to those who had made bad choices and teach us how to accept your mercy so we are able to be merciful to ourselves. When we feel all alone with our problems, teach us how to reach out for help. And when all is sunshine and everything is coming up roses, help is enjoy the gift and to recognize the good times as gift so we will be able to experience the joy of gratitude. When we are enjoying the gift of abundance, awaken within us the desire to share and the joy of generously. When we are basking in the delight of friends and family, enable us to be sensitive to those who are alone and feeling isolated. Enable us to live as Jesus was teaching us to live when he taught us to pray: "Our Father ...."
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