Reflections
February 19, 2012 - Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time
In the Gospel this Sunday, Mark recounts a dramatic story of an encounter a paralysed man has with Jesus (Mark 2:1-12). The unfortunate man was carried to Jesus’ house on a mat by four friends. So many people had come to hear Jesus that the house was full and a crowd blocked the door. There was no way to get the paralysed man to Jesus. Not to be deterred, the concerned friends tore off part of the roof and lowered the man into the room where Jesus was speaking. It is a story full of meaning, almost too full. Let’s just focus on one aspect of Mark’s account – the groups of people who play a part in the drama.
The first group of people that we encounter are the crowd that gathered to hear Jesus in the house. Like the paralysed man, they wanted to be close to Jesus and so they came, in great numbers. The message of Jesus was important to them, moving and liberating for them. It was essential that they hear what Jesus was saying and their intention was all good. BUT, as they gathered and without intending it they blocked others from coming near and engaging with Jesus. In particular, they were a block to the one who especially needed to reach Jesus – the paralysed man.
Are we, as church sometimes this crowd? We seek to hear the word, we try to live it. We come together and celebrate as community and express our faith with a sense of oneness. But does our gathering sometimes result in our showing our backs to the paralysed? As church, do we erect walls and restrictions and regulations which in themselves seem good, but in fact exclude or block those who seek the healing, reconciling touch of Jesus in their lives? Should not our faith lead us to an awareness of turning our faces to the paralysed, while we hear and celebrate the presence of Jesus among us?
Then there is the second group, the four friends who arrive with the paralysed man on his mat. Not only did they have faith that Jesus could help the paralysed man. They also had a faith that led them to respond to the man’s need. It caused them to act – for another. Their faith in Jesus turned their faces to him and led them to carry him to a place of possibility and healing, where Jesus was. What a remarkable thing their faith in Jesus led them to! The obstacles in their way did not stop them. They are models of living faith, reaching out to bring the healing that they recognized was a need. Does this open, including, healing faith find expression in our own experience, in us as church?
Finally, there is another group, the scribes. They heard Jesus tell the man his sins were forgiven and immediately called it blasphemy. Somehow, they saw in what Jesus said and did an affront to God. For the scribes, religion and faith were about meticulous following of rules. For them the law was the way to God. Breaches of the law somehow injured God.
The scribes failed to recognize what Jesus was saying to the man – forgiveness and healing are the remedy for sin and paralysis. Sin paralyses. It imprisons and binds us, unlike what God’s dream is for us as free and alive members of God’s reign. Sin with its paralysing guilt and hurt also makes us into someone we ourselves do not want to be. Healing and forgiveness liberate the person, as it liberated the paralysed man.
Question: As we enter the season of Lent this week, how often do we find ourselves and our community in each of these groups?
Past Reflections
