121007 Walk with Me: (un)Popular 1

Before we look at this week’s text, let’s review. Jesus, clearly anointed by God’s Spirit, came to heal, to rid people of unclean spirits, to teach wisdom, to liberate those who suffered from injustice, and to invite people into a movement where people more and more lived in the Way of the Kingdom of God. Those who followed Jesus healed, helped people get rid of unclean spirits, taught wisdom, liberated those who suffered injustice, and invited others to join them on the mission to live more and more in the Way of the Kingdom of God. Some traditions have boiled Jesus’ purpose down to simply saving our souls from hell. In doing so we become absolved from the things Jesus actually did, because we assume we’re just waiting for heaven to come. Our job becomes one of sales: getting people to say yes, and then wait to die. The Good News, however, is much bigger and better than that tradition’s version. The Good News really is good, here and now, for everybody, forever.

This is one of those cool stories we love to tell kids about. Jesus is teaching in someone’s living room, and it’s a packed house. People are spilling out onto the front porch. There’s a line forming with all sorts of people looking for healing. Some friends of a paralytic guy get word of the event, and offer to take him to see Jesus. But there’s no room for a stretcher in the living room, and nobody seems to be willing to let them cut in line. Undeterred, the friends climb onto the flat, thatched rooftop, and begin destroying it. The police are called, and the paralytic’s friends are cuffed and stuffed while the paralytic stays stuck on the rooftop until Santa comes at Christmas. Or something like that. Read for yourself in Mark 2:1-12.

When the guy is lowered through the hole in the roof, Jesus rolled with the interruption. He looked at the guy and made a declaration: your sins are forgiven. I remember my first impression when I heard this story as a kid: Jesus totally missed it – the guy wants to be healed and Jesus just wants to forgive the guy. How embarrassing! In the ancient world, however, people tied physical malady to God’s judgment for sins committed. If you were born blind or lame, God was meting justice for sins carried out by your parents or grandparents. If you came down with leprosy, or developed a disability, you might very well wonder what you did to deserve such a thing.

We’re not so far removed from them, are we? When people find themselves burdened by especially difficult challenges, we hear them wonder what they did to cause it. The undercurrent offers a glimpse into their theology: for some reason, God made/allowed this to happen. This is what the Bible’s story of Job’s friends assumed when he was struck with one terrible thing after another – he must have done something to warrant such wrath – or at least neglect – from God.

We can assume that the paralyzed guy has been hearing similar things from people for as long as he’s been unable to walk. He may have been wondering about it himself. Is God getting back at him for eating that cookie before dinner in direct defiance of his mother’s order – therefore breaking one of the Top Ten Commandments? There may have been some other sins he was wondering about, too. Just like we do. People judge people; people condemn people. People belittle people. We know from other stories that people who suffered such things were often treated inhumanely, adding insult to injury. Bad enough that he was paralyzed – perhaps he also had to contend with a community of peers who were consistently “helping” him determine what he did to deserve such a fate.

When Jesus says that his sins are forgiven,therefore, this is no small thing. Jesus was clearly anointed by God, given his healings and exorcisms. Jesus’ pronouncement carried authority – like you could really believe it was true. But was Jesus off point? Was the guy just wanting to see if he could get a new set of legs?

Actually, Jesus was addressing a foundation issue for the paralytic. I think it is safe to assume that on some level, this guy wondered if God cared for him at all. If you don’t think God cares for you – be it apathy or disdain – you’re on your own. What hope do you really have? But if you discovered that God cares for you in spite of your misfortune, that changes things. If God actually cares, then you might have an advocate that can help you through your struggle. If God actually cares, perhaps you are not as alone as you thought. Perhaps God can make something of the mess you are in. All of these things add up to something we really can’t live without: hope.

Jesus telling this guy his sins are forgiven isn’t just a statement of accounting. He is saying in the most relevant way possible: GOD LOVES YOU. Your paralysis is not God’s wrath. Your feeling judged is not God’s heart. God’s love and grace is and has always been with you. Start living in that reality, because it is, indeed, real and true.

This statement no doubt sat well with the paralytic. But not so much with the religious leaders who were present. They were there to hear Jesus speak. At this stage in the story, they liked Jesus and wondered what was to become of him. They probably got a kick out of his lack of religiosity, even. Forgiving sins, however, went well outside the box. It was blasphemous to speak for God in such a manner. They were clearly upset, which Jesus did not miss.

The religious element in Jesus’ day were doing the best they could. They had systems in place with meaningful rituals to help people find forgiveness from their sins. Structures and protocol were in place to facilitate redemption – Jesus just ignored all of it with his statement.

A lot of religious people would still get uncomfortable in this situation. They would not be so sure Jesus got this one right. The guy never asked for forgiveness, did he? Was he even sorry for whatever wrong he did, or all of the wrongs he had ever done? His crippled state suggests God’s wrath, not love. Confess sin to the right people, make a sacrifice, and then maybe God will forgive – the evidence is in the legs. But to simply announce that the guy was forgiven was just too much.

We do that, though, don’t we? We assume people aren’t forgiven until they do something first. We want to hear people confess. We wouldn’t mind a tear or two. We want to hear that they have accepted Christ. Then they are forgiven, right? But what if the forgiveness was there all along? What if we’ve been getting in the way of things by demanding new hoops through which one must jump in order to earn the grace of God? Is it possible that we have made confessing Christ a new form of works theology? That God does not forgive until we say the magic words?

To suggest otherwise is to make a fool of God, right? To think that God would be such a schmuck as to cheapen grace to the point of requiring nothing from the recipient is unthinkable. That would be unnatural. Unfair. Unjust. Scandalous even. And correct.

Paul said it it succinctly in Romans 5:6-8 that while we were helpless, still sinners, Christ died for us. Grace was there – forgiveness given – even while we were thumbing our nose at God by our behavior. Jesus told the guy that God forgave him before he confessed his need because God always does forgive us long before we know it or are humble enough to ask for it. Forgiveness just is. God’s love for us is a constant. It’s gravity – we can count on it to be there no matter what, knowing it will have the same influence regardless of the size of our calamity.

This goes against traditional thinking. You might be uncomfortable right now with this idea. But realize who is actually making you uncomfortable. Not me. Jesus.

The truth is that God’s love and power are always at work in and around us, all pointed toward our healing, or wholeness, our salvation. God doesn’t wait for us to get our ducks in a row before the Presence shows up. Its just simply there. Not to condone our waywardness, but to woo us toward Life.

I know this is the case because I have experienced it. There have been times in my life when I was a fool, thumbing my nose at God with great bravado. I knew I was wrong, but was stuck in my prodigal-son ways. At those times, I absolutely assumed I was on my own, that since I had turned my back on God, God would keep His distance. Much to my surprise, however, that was not the case. Even at my worst, I experienced God’s Presence wooing me toward restoration. He even gave me strength to make the turns necessary to get back on the right course. I was never, ever on my own. I was never, ever off of God’s “Love List”. Paul said later to the same church in Rome that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God. Nothing. Ever.

The real question is: have we embraced and integrated God’s love into our lives? The story of the paralytic is the parable of the Prodigal Sons played out in real time. Love for the sons was always there for the embracing. Two sons struggled to discover it in their own unique way. I was one of them (both of them, actually), and have discovered how powerful the love of God can be in life. To get you through tough times. To direct you toward life worth living. To guide you on a mission that is much bigger than myself. To bring healing. To stand for justice with the oppressed. To bring wisdom where there is only foolishness. To call others to follow the same god who loves us all.

If you’ve been feeling like God has abandoned you, or is judging you, or barely tolerates you, here Jesus clearly: GOD LOVES YOU. Start living like it. Ask God for help, because God will gladly give it. Ask God for strength, because God longs to help you get through your struggle. You can have hope again that will not disappoint. And hope makes all the difference, doesn’t it?

I must also give a nod to some other very important characters: the paralytics friends who went to great lengths so that their friend could see Jesus. They believed Jesus had something for their friend that was worth every effort to help make happen.

Many years ago, a Christian man noticed a young woman whose parents never took her to church apart from when they went at Christmas and Easter. He must have assumed that it would be very hard for that young woman to learn about the love God had for her apart from being exposed to it. So he invited her to church. For years, he took her to church and back home after the service was over. Once an adult, the woman didn’t go to church much. Then tragedy struck. Her father, who by all appearances was in good shape, collapsed on the tennis court one Saturday morning and died of a massive heart attack. Naturally, this put the woman in a tailspin. She knew where to find help. She found herself in church, found herself in the Presence of Grace, found herself in her Father’s arms. She committed her life to Christ and has been serving ever since. A number of years ago another Jesus follower became her friend and invited her to try her church – our church. She now calls CrossWalk home. Her name is Evangeline Tai.

Evangeline’s friend never destroyed a roof, but he certainly took it upon himself to do his part to help her see Jesus. He believed life with Jesus was that important that he sacrificed his time, gas, and attention for her. Do you believe that Jesus is worth seeing? Who do you know that needs to see Jesus? What are you doing to help them?

May you wake up to the reality that God’s love is ever-present, a well that will never run dry. May you realize that forgiveness is granted long before we discover our need, and that the real point is to live as one who has been given new legs to stand on. May you also awaken to the call Jesus is focusing on you: to follow in his footsteps by bringing healing and cleansing, wisdom and justice, and the invitation to see what Jesus might offer someone you know who needs him.