Matthew 9:1-2
And after getting into a boat he crossed the water and came to his own town. And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
And so he leaves. Jesus, that is. After sending the demons into a herd of swine who run down a bank to drown themselves a river, the residents of the local community want him to go. Never mind the two persons who were freed from their demonic oppression, this man was disrupting things – social order, commerce, their expectations. Or maybe his power just plain scared them. Whatever the case, they ask him to leave. And he does, getting on a boat and leaving the way he came, as if this trip wasn’t a failed expedition but rather an excursion undertaken simply to heal those two troubled souls.
When he reaches the shore there is another troubled soul to heal. Or, actually, a troubled body, one that does not work, that has been paralyzed by illness or accident or birth or some misfortune. And so because he cannot walk, this man is brought to Jesus by friends confident of his ability to heal.
For just a moment, wonder with me how long those friends were waiting for Jesus. Matthew tells us that just after Jesus makes land and comes into his own town they are there. Did they see him leave a day before and set up camp, trusting he’d come back? Did they peer for hours on end toward the horizon, getting excited each and every time they saw the outline of a boat? Had they left just one scout at the beach who came running to town to find them as soon as Jesus came to shore?
We don’t know. What we do know is that these friends were so confident of Jesus’ ability to relieve the suffering of their companion that they were right there, ready and waiting, as Jesus came to town. And seeing both the distress of the man and the faith of his friends, Jesus is move once again to cure, saying as he does, “Take heart, son. Your sins are forgiven.”
Your sins are forgiven. It’s a curious thing to say, when you think about it. We don’t normally link sin to physical consequences. Oh, sure, if you think of smoking or eating poorly as sins, then we are not surprised that there are consequences to reap. But surely paralysis isn’t a punishment for, or even the consequence of, sin. But it would seem that to Jesus these things – sin and suffering – are inextricably locked.
Not necessarily as punishment, however. There is no word here depicting the man’s suffering as punishment for sin. Rather, sin is that force which disrupts God’s hopes and intentions that we live in peace and harmony with each other, with God, and with the world. Sometimes we contribute to the power of sin to disrupt the world, and sometimes we simply suffer from it. Hence, Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven.” You have a new lease, in other words, on life, a second chance, freedom from what you have done or has been done to you. You are, in short, more than the sum of your disappointments, regrets, and disability. You are a child of God.
For just as sin and suffering are connected, so too are healing and forgiveness. Then and, I’d wager, now, for both healing and forgiveness represent the new life that is still God’s intention and gift.
Prayer: Dear God, remind us of your unfailing desire to heal, forgive, renew, and love…us, those around us, and all the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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