Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Seventh Sunday After The Epiphany, Mark 2:1-12, Feb 19, 2006

Mark.2.1-12
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Howard, SD
Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, February 19, 2006
And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.  And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door.  And he was preaching the word to them.  And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.  And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.  And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that?  He is blaspheming!  Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:1-12, ESV)
Grace and peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Well, I guess we’re not used to seeing amazing things, just like the people in the text.  In fact we don’t see much new around here much at all.  In fact, we really like to do things the way we’ve always done them.  Maybe it’s the German or Norwegian in us.  How many of you parked in the same parking space you did last week?  How many of you are sitting in the very same place?  How many of you feel out of sorts if you don’t?  It’s common for us to do the same old things here every week.  We speak the same old words of the Liturgy, and sing the same old hymns.  We have the same conversations with our friends: How much snow did you get yesterday?  How are your kids?  Isn’t the price of corn on the skids!  On and on it goes the same old way it has gone for 119+ years here at St.  John’s.  It is one thing we Lutherans are very good at: consistency.  The joke goes like this: “How many Lutherans does it take to change a light bulb?  The answer: “Change?!?”  We’re not known for innovation, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but just the fact that things here don’t change a lot.
New things do happen here, I’m sure you could come up with a long list of changes you’ve seen in your lifetime.  Philip Behm, was 100 years old, when I asked him that question he smiled as if to say, “You’ve no idea.”  In some cases when good changes happen it’s nice to find out that we really aren’t the tired old congregation we think we are.  But most of the time we fit the old German saying better “Wir dleiben beim alten.” We love the old best.  
Even though it goes against all logic… Something new and amazing is going to happen here, nonetheless.  It might sound like a contradiction, but… it was new and amazing last time it happened here, and next time it happens it will also be new and amazing.  The real problem is that we just don’t see it that way anymore.  
To help us see it I want to look a little more closely at our text for today…  
And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. (Mark 2:1-2, ESV)
Picture it.  It is a small house, almost square, maybe 20 feet by 20 feet, about the size of the chancel area here.  The walls are mud over wood and stone, kind of a poor man’s stucco.  Jesus is sitting in the center of the room, on the floor.  The room is packed, people are crowded around, it is hot, people are sweating, and you can smell it.  The doors and windows are open in a vain attempt to get some airflow.  The building only has one door, and it is crowed too.  In fact, the crowd around it numbers as many as that are in the house.  Amazingly, in spite of all the people, there is a dead silence.  They have all come to hear Jesus preaching.  They are hanging on his every word.  
And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. (Mark 2:3-4, ESV)
The house, just like many of that day, had a stairway on the outside up to the roof.  That space was used for storage, and sleeping.   It is cooler outside at night then inside.  These for men have gone to a lot of trouble.  They have hauled their paralyzed friend up to the roof.  They have made a whole through it by digging into the hardened mud and breaking the wooden twigs and branches that it is built upon.  When the whole is big enough to lower their friend through it.  They are determined to get Jesus to see their friend.
And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:5, ESV)
Jesus sees the faith of these men.  They are not about to let anything stand in the way of Jesus healing their friend.  They believe that Jesus can and will heal him, if only they can get him to Jesus.  Jesus goes straight to the heart of the matter.  Instead of healing the man, Jesus forgives him.  Jesus knows that the real illness that all people suffer from is sin.  He also knows this ‘healing’ will cause a controversy.  Sitting in the small crowded room, are some ‘teachers of the law’.  
Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:6-7, ESV)
These men know the bible, and they are right.  The books of Moses, the writings of the prophets, and even the psalms, all say the same thing; “only God, himself, can forgive sins.” Anyone who says what Jesus had said was claiming to be God.  Jesus purposely set the stage to declare his true identity.  He was, in fact, claiming to be the one and only God.
And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? (Mark 2:8-9, ESV)
Jesus challenges their thoughts with a question.  “Which is easier…?” he says.  The answer has to be, ‘Neither’ and ‘Both’.  ‘Neither’ is the answer for humans, they can neither forgive sins nor make the man walk.  Saying the words for them is fruitless.  The answer is ‘Both’ where God is concerned.  Only when God himself speaks the words can they have any meaning.  When God says ‘your sins are forgiven’ they are forgiven.  When God says to the paralytic, ‘Get up and walk.’ He will get up and walk.  Jesus drives the point home by saying…
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:10-12, ESV)
Jesus builds a link between the healing and the forgiving.  His question to the teachers ties them together.  Neither healing nor forgiving is possible for humans.  Yet, Jesus heals, and therefore he also forgives.  He spoke words of forgiveness to the man, and he spoke words of healing.  The healing was evident to all.  The paralytic man got up and walked.  It is clear from what Jesus has said that the man is also forgiven.  Jesus words do exactly what they say.  That is what amazed the crowds.  It wasn’t that He healed the paralytic.  Jesus has been healing people (a great number of them) every few verses in the Gospel of Mark.  They have come to expect healing from Jesus, after all that’s why lots of the people there had come… to be healed.  What they are amazed at is that Jesus words do exactly what they say they do, heal and forgive.  They are amazed that Jesus claims to be God.
Jesus is God.  Jesus is the God-Man, forever both God and Man always together.  When he speaks, what he says happens.  When he hung on the cross dying for our sins….  When he was bearing the pain of our punishment…  When he was suffering for us, he said, “It is finished!”  And he died.  It is finished.  The power of sin is destroyed.  Our sin died on that day with him.  Even the sins that trouble us today; our unwillingness to change, our lack of enthusiasm for worship, our faithless attendance, our failure to encourage our friends and family to come to church with us,  our empty repetition… they are all now powerless because of what Jesus did and said.  His death is our forgiveness.  He gives it to us through faith in his words.  
Forgiveness is an amazing thing!  And the really amazing thing about it is that it happens every week!  We confess our sins and God pronounces forgiveness through the voice of your Pastor.  We hear God’s Word and our faith in His promise for us.  Jesus’ Word and Bread and Wine do exactly what He says they’ll do.  He body and blood, placed into our mouths and they give comfort, strengthen faith, and forgive sins.  Poor miserable sinners will approach the altar with repentant hearts, and through common everyday things bread and wine and amazing thing happens, we receive the forgiveness of sins won by Christ on the cross.  Then, they will get up and go home.  It doesn’t stop there, Jesus words and sprinkled water, turned an enemy of God into his Child, and it happens right there!  A child born in sin, destined for hell, is made into a child of God.  Faith is created and forgiveness given.  Every Sunday, in this place amazing things happen…  Water is poured, bread is eaten, all with Jesus words, and forgiveness is received.
Somehow, maybe because we have seen them so many times, we’ve lost the amazement that goes with the amazing things God does in this place.  Maybe it’s because we look and see plain old things, like water, and a pasty white wafer.  Maybe because we have heard the words so many times we have forgotten the power that is in them.  My friends, Jesus words still work for us today.  The forgiveness that he gives is ours just the same as it was for that paralytic who got up and walked home from that crowded house.  Just as Jesus said to him, “Son, you are forgiven.”  He says to you right now in this place, “Son, you are forgiven!”  “Daughter, you are forgiven!”  It is an amazing thing.  He uses plain old things like me, and you, like bread and wine, like water, to show you and tell you that his forgiveness is yours right now.  
Watch and be amazed!  God is always doing something very amazing, in this place.  He is speaking words of forgiveness, words of comfort, words to strengthen faith.  He is speaking them to you.  Amen
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

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