An Incredible Moment with a Paralytic

Where do I begin?

The basic premise of the story is one I really like. I love the symbolism and the way Jesus makes his not-so-subtle point about being the Son of Man. So, for these reasons, I am willing to bypass the fact that this, to me, is one of the most unbelievable tales in the bible. Lug a man who is dead weight up the side of a house on a wooden ladder and then lower him through the roof on nothing but a mat? Mentally, I have a lot of trouble with this one. But I digress...

Here are the parts that stuck with me on this chapter:

"Sympathy is the only prescription the community could dispense. And he's had enough of that. He doesn't want sympathy. He wants his life back."

He wants his life back...

(Been there - felt that.)

"The text says he 'saw their faith.' Their faith. The faith of the paralytic's friends. It is on the wings of their faith that the mercy from heaven descends. There's no record that they said anything. So it wasn't what Jesus heard that captured his heart: it was what he saw."

Jesus didn't see the man's faith - He saw the faith of the man's friends. What a beautiful point that when one can't speak for himself, it is his friends that shoulder him - as well as his burden. Where would we all be without our friends???

And then:

"If that hole in the roof teaches us anything, it's that faith is what brings a person to Jesus, not intellectual reasoning. Curiosity crowded the classroom but it was faith that dug through the roof to bring the paralytic to the feet of Christ."

This is the point where my heart began to do a little dance...

But then the prayer pushed it into high gear:

"Thank you for the handful of faithful friends who once carried me on their shoulders and brought me to you. Thank you that no matter how lame my excuses, they refused to leave me resigned to my pallat."

Ken's face - the counselor who had the kahounas to talk to me about God when professionally, its the last thing you're supposed to bring up in therapy - he flashed across my heart first. And then Maureen - my best friend for over half my life who showed me quiet Christianity when I was yelling and screaming my way through life. And then I saw Jack's face - my beautiful friend who couldn't walk into a church or speak God's name without automatically making the sign of the cross across his chest. Next I saw my new church friends - Shannon. Pastor Rick. His wife, Jetta. And then came Penni, Gayla, Julie and Claire - my first four online Christian friends who helped mold me between Sunday services and emails to my pastor. Then came all the others...including all of you. Especially all of you. My heart finally rested here, at this place, with these friends.

And in each of these sweet faces I saw something I'd never seen before...

I saw Jesus himself smiling back at me. Eyes twinkling. Hands outstretched. He's here with us - inside the writings on this blog. He's here with me - inside my heart and mind. I keep thinking I am going to wake up and my old life will be back and all of this happiness, all of this deep abiding love, all of this caring and concern from so many other people will all have been a dream.

I was the paralytic - paralyzed with fear and anger and sorrow. And I, like him - picked up my mat and, in doing so, became another story and another miracle in Jesus' 2,000 year old ministry.

I, too, have been set free.