Psalm 85: 9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14
Luke 5:17-26
"One day as Jesus was teaching,
Pharisees and teachers of the law,
who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,
were sitting there,
and the power of the Lord was with him for healing.
And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;
they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence.
But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof
and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles
into the middle in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said,
“As for you, your sins are forgiven.”
Pharisees and teachers of the law,
who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,
were sitting there,
and the power of the Lord was with him for healing.
And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;
they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence.
But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof
and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles
into the middle in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said,
“As for you, your sins are forgiven.”
What struck me first about today's Gospel was the determination of the man on the stretcher to see and be healed by Christ. Upon a second look, I see that we can also remark the determination of the friends of this man, who upon not finding a way in the front door, literally lower him in through the roof.
So first, the man. How determined are you to see Christ? Are you so confident in Christ's healing power in your life that you would be lowered through a roof? Especially during this time of Advent when we are preparing our hearts and lives to receive Christ, we must be willing to think creatively, to be determined. We must seek to be closer to Christ in every moment, and sometimes that takes creativity and willpower. Often I think we sit back and wait for Jesus to come to us. "Well, God if you're real... prove it." Or sometimes we are unsure of what to do, or confused as to why something is happening, and we cry out to God, "Why me?" or "What now?" We need to be willing to put in the time and effort to seek Christ. If you cannot feel the presence of God, think of what you can do differently. If that same old set of prayers every day is becoming more a rehearsed routine and less of a breath of inspiration, maybe you need to go in through the roof. Discover a new form of prayer, pray for someone new. Put your prayer into action - serve, minister to, love.
Next, the man's friends. Would your friends lower you through the roof in order to bring you to God? How dedicated are your friends to bettering not only their own faith lives, but yours? True friends should seek to leads your towards healing and salvation, not away. I am so thankful for the friends in my life that lead me to Christ, that lower me in through the roof when sometimes I am content to sit on the steps and complain that there's not enough room for me.
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