JESUS IS NOT A DEAD FACT, BUT A LIVING FRIEND
Luke 5:17-26
Rev. Paul Wrightman 10/24/21
OUR SCRIPTURE READING THIS MORNING IS, AMONG OTHER THINGS,
A MOVING COMMENTARY ON THE POWER OF FRIENDS.
IMAGINE BEING PARALYZED AND HAVING FOUR FRIENDS
SO DEVOTED TO YOU AND SO CONVINCED
OF THE POWER OF JESUS TO HEAL
THAT THEY LITERALLY PICK YOU UP – SLEEPING MAT AND ALL –
TO BRING YOU TO JESUS FOR HEALING.
IMAGINE THE PERSISTENCE AND DETERMINATION OF THESE FRIENDS
WHEN, SEEING A CROWD BLOCKING THE ENTRANCE
TO WHERE JESUS WAS,
THEY SIMPLY TAKE THE OUTSIDE STAIRCASE TO THE ROOF,
REMOVE A FEW TILES, AND CAREFULLY LOWER THEIR FRIEND,
POSITIONING HIM RIGHT IN FRONT OF JESUS.
IT SEEMS THAT THE FAITH OF THESE FRIENDS IS SO STRONG
THAT THEY COME PREPARED FOR JUST THIS EVENTUALITY,
ROPES AND ALL, KNOWING THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE TO DO
SOMETHING DRAMATIC TO GET THEIR FRIEND TO JESUS.
I SINCERELY HOPE THAT EACH PERSON HERE AT COMMUNITY CHURCH
CAN CLAIM FRIENDS OF THIS CALIBER –
PERSONS WHO LOVE YOU, CONSOLE YOU, CHALLENGE YOU,
PRAY FOR YOU, AND WILL DO MOST ANYTHING
TO GET YOU TO JESUS FOR HEALING.
I’M SO THANKFUL THAT LUKE THE PHYSICIAN,
AS PART OF HIS PROCESS OF GATHERING EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS --
A PROCESS WHICH HE MENTIONS AT THE VERY BEGINNING
OF HIS GOSPEL -- CHOSE TO INCLUDE THIS STORY IN HIS GOSPEL,
BECAUSE THIS STORY IS THE ONLY ONE IN ALL OF SCRIPTURE
WHERE WE ARE EXPLICITLY TOLD THAT SOMEONE IS HEALED
BECAUSE OF THE FAITH OF THEIR FRIENDS.
ALTHOUGH WE SHOULD NEVER BE SO FOOLISH AS TO THINK
THAT WE CAN DEMAND THAT GOD HEAL,
OR TO THINK THAT WE CAN PREDICT WHEN GOD WILL HEAL –
OR TO SET UP IMPOSSIBLE BURDENS FOR OURSELVES
AND OUR LOVED ONES BY TELLING OURSELVES OR OTHERS
THAT IF HEALING DOES NOT TAKE PLACE
THAT OUR – OR THEIR – FAITH SIMPLY WASN’T UP TO THE TASK –
LET US NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF FRIENDS,
AND THE POWER OF A COMMUNITY OF FRIENDS
LIKE THAT WHICH WE FIND HERE AT COMMUNITY CHURCH,
TO BE INSTRUMENTAL IN THE HEALING PROCESS.
WE ARE TOLD AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF TODAY’S TEXT
THAT PART OF THE CROWD BLOCKING THE ENTRANCE
TO THE HOUSE WAS A HUGE GROUP OF SCRIBES AND PHARISEES.
LUKE TELLS US PARENTHETICALLY THAT “THEY HAD COME
FROM EVERY VILLAGE OF GALILEE AND JUDEA
AND FROM JERUSALEM.”
WHY SUCH A LARGE DELEGATION?
WORD OF JESUS’ TEACHING AND HEALING
HAD BECOME KNOWN THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE REGION.
THE PHARISEES AND THE SCRIBES – SELF-PROCLAIMED WATCHDOGS
OF THEOLOGICAL ORTHODOXY AND RITUAL PURITY –
WERE THERE TO CHECK OUT JESUS FOR THEMSELVES,
TO MAKE SURE THAT HE WAS OPERATING WITHIN
THE APPROPRIATE THEOLOGICAL AND RITUAL BOUNDARIES.
THE SCENE IS SET: THE WATCHDOGS ARE ON THE OUTSIDE
OF THE HOUSE LOOKING IN, INTENT ON CATCHING
ANY THEOLOGICAL IMPROPRIETY OR RITUAL INFRACTION.
IRONICALLY, THESE MASTERS OF ORTHODOXY
ARE ACTUALLY MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE ELSE
TO GET INTO THE HOUSE TO BE WITH JESUS.
THIS SCENE IS IN ITSELF A TYPE OF PARABLE:
HOW OFTEN IT IS THAT THE MOST “RELIGIOUS” –
OR AT LEAST THOSE WHO CONSIDER THEMSELVES TO BE SO –
WHO BLOCK THE WAY, WHO MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE
FOR OTHERS TO BE WITH JESUS.
THE FRIENDS OF THE PERSON WHO IS PARALYZED
SHOW SOME WONDERFUL IMAGINATION AND INGENUITY
AT THIS POINT.
WE CAN’T GET THROUGH THE DOOR?
NO PROBLEM! WE’LL SIMPLY TAKE A BIT OF A DETOUR
AND BREAK IN THROUGH THE ROOF!
THEIR DETOUR, IRONICALLY, BECOMES THE MOST DIRECT ROUTE
FOR THEIR FRIEND TO GET TO JESUS.
RATHER THAN HAVING TO JOSTLE FOR JESUS’ ATTENTION,
OR HAVING TO WAIT PATIENTLY IN LINE,
BY BREAKING IN FROM ABOVE THEY ARE ABLE
TO LOWER THEIR FRIEND DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF JESUS.
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS IN THE GOSPELS
WHEN I PASSIONATELY WISH THAT WE COULD HAVE BEEN THERE.
I PASSIONATELY WISH THAT WE COULD HAVE BEEN THERE
TO SEE THE LOOK OF AMAZEMENT ON THE FACE OF JESUS
AS HE IS SUDDENLY RAINED UPON BY FALLING MORTAR,
LOOKS UP, AND SEES A PALLET BEING LOWERED DOWN.
LOOKING UP AGAIN AFTER THE DUST HAS SETTLED
AND THE MAN WHO IS PARALYZED IS LYING RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM,
JESUS LOOKS INTO THE EAGER AND EXPECTANT EYES
OF THE FOUR FRIENDS,
AND THEN INTO THE EAGER AND EXPECTANT EYES
OF THE ONE STRETCHED OUT IN FRONT OF HIM.
THEN JESUS DOES SOMETHING WHICH IS TOTALLY SURPRISING TO US,
BUT IS NOT SURPRISING AT ALL GIVEN THE BELIEF-SYSTEM
OF THAT TIME:
LUKE WRITES, “WHEN JESUS SAW THEIR FAITH,
HE SAID, ‘FRIEND, YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN YOU.’”
WE, EXPECTING TO HEAR A PRONOUNCEMENT OF HEALING,
ARE TAKEN ABACK AT HEARING
A PRONOUNCEMENT OF THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.
TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON HERE, WE NEED TO REMEMBER
THAT AT THE TIME IN WHICH JESUS MINISTERED,
THEOLOGICAL ORTHODOXY MAINTAINED
THAT ILLNESS OR POVERTY WAS GOD’S PUNISHMENT FOR SIN.
AMONG OTHER THINGS, JESUS CAME TO CORRECT
THIS MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT GOD AND GOD’S WAYS.
HE KNOWS THAT THE PARALYZED MAN LYING BEFORE HIM
COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE RECEPTIVE TO GOD’S HEALING POWER
AND GOD’S DESIRE TO HEAL IF HE WAS STILL CONVINCED
THAT HIS OWN SINFULNESS – OR EVEN THAT OF HIS PARENTS –
HAD MADE HIM THAT WAY.
JESUS KNOWS THAT IN ORDER FOR HEALING TO HAPPEN,
THE PROBLEM OF BLAMING ONESELF FOR ONE’S ILLNESS
HAD TO BE DEALT WITH FIRST.
THUS, BEFORE JESUS HEALS THE MAN PHYSICALLY,
HE FIRST HEALS THE MAN SPIRITUALLY:
“FRIEND, YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN YOU.”
NOW REMEMBER, A CROWD OF SCRIBES AND PHARISEES
ARE STANDING OUTSIDE, STANDING ON TIPTOE,
PEERING IN TO MAKE SURE THAT JESUS DOES NOT SAY OR DO
ANYTHING THAT HE ISN’T SUPPOSED TO SAY OR DO.
HOW DELIGHTED THEY MUST HAVE BEEN
THAT THE FIRST THING THEY HEARD OUT OF JESUS’ MOUTH
WAS NOT JUST A MINOR INDESCRETION, BUT, IN FACT,
THE VERY WORST FORM OF BLASPHEMY:
JESUS WAS CLAIMING A PEROGATIVE –
THE ABILITY TO FORGIVE SINS – RESERVED FOR GOD ALONE.
IN THEIR MINDS, JESUS HAD ALREADY COMMITTED AN OFFENSE
PUNISHABLE BY DEATH.
JESUS WAS MUCH TOO POPULAR AND POWERFUL
TO TAKE HIM TO TASK FOR THIS NOW.
BUT, OH, WHAT A JUICY STORY THEY WOULD HAVE TO TELL
TO THEIR SUPERIORS IN JERUSALEM!
INDEED, THE RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DAY
DID FINALLY HAVE ITS WAY,
AND THE CHARGE THAT LED TO JESUS’ DEATH
WAS PRECISELY THAT OF BLASPHEMY –
OF CLAIMING FOR HIMSELF POWERS RESERVED FOR GOD ALONE.
INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH,
IF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES HAD BEEN CORRECT –
IF JESUS HAD INDEED SPOKEN BLASPHEMY
WHEN HE FORGAVE THE MAN’S SINS –
THE MAN’S PHYSICAL HEALING COULD NEVER HAVE TAKEN PLACE,
BECAUSE TO THEIR WAY OF THINKING
A PERSON GUILTY OF THE HIGH SIN OF BLASPHEMY
WOULD, BY DEFINITION, BE INCAPABLE OF PERFORMING A HEALING.
HOW SHOCKED THEY MUST HAVE BEEN
WHEN, AFTER HAVING PREPARED THE WAY
FOR THE MAN’S HEALING BY RELEASING HIM FROM HIS SINS,
JESUS CALMLY PROCEEDS TO RELEASE HIM FROM HIS PARALYSIS.
ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN LOGIC,
THE VERY FACT THAT JESUS COULD PULL OFF
SUCH A MAGNIFICENT HEALING IMMEDIATELY AFTER
UTTERING THE GRAVEST OF BLASPHEMIES,
SHOULD HAVE GIVEN THEM PAUSE
AS TO WHO THIS JESUS REALLY WAS:
IN THIS SITUATION BEING ABLE TO HEAL WAS PROOF
THAT THE HEALER DID, INDEED, HAVE THE POWER TO FORGIVE SINS.
I SUSPECT THAT AT LEAST A FEW OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES
MADE THIS CONNECTION, AND BEGAN TO SEE IN JESUS
SOMETHING MORE THAN A PROPHET.
JESUS HIMSELF SAYS AS MUCH WHEN HE CLAIMS FOR HIMSELF
THE TITLE OF THE “SON OF MAN,” A TITLE THAT COMES
FROM THE BOOK OF DANIEL IN THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES,
AND WHICH MANY IN JESUS’ DAY SAW AS THE MAJOR TITLE
OF THE MESSIAH FOR WHOM THEY AWAITED.
PERHAPS A NUMBER OF PHARISEES AND SCRIBES
TOOK IN THE WONDER
OF WHAT HAD JUST UNFOLDED BEFORE THEM,
BUT WE KNOW THAT FOR A MAJORITY
OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES EVENTS LIKE THIS
SIMPLY SERVED AS FODDER
FOR THE FURTHER HARDENING OF THEIR HEARTS.
LATER IN THE GOSPELS WE FIND THEM CLAIMING
THAT JESUS HEALS THROUGH THE POWER OF THE EVIL ONE,
AGAIN, A BLATANT CONTRADICTION OF THEIR OWN LOGIC,
WHICH HELD THAT THE EVIL ONE, AGAIN, BE DEFINITION,
COULD PERFORM NO REAL HEALINGS.
WE HAVE LOOKED AT THE POWER OF FRIENDS
AND AT THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS TO FORGIVE SINS AND TO HEAL.
TO CLOSE THIS SERMON I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK BRIEFLY
AT THE REALITY OF JESUS AS FRIEND.
IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN JESUS TELLS HIS DISCIPLES
THAT, FOR HIM, THEY ARE NOT MERELY SERVANTS, BUT FRIENDS.
(John 15:15)
GRADUALLY GROWING INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS AS FRIEND
IS A HUGE PART OF WHAT CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY IS ALL ABOUT.
FOR NOW LET IT SUFFICE TO SAY THAT COUNTLESS CHRISTIANS
THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE DISCOVERED
THAT FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS, AND THUS FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD,
IS AN AWESOME REALITY THAT CAN ACTUALLY BE EXPERIENCED
AND LIVED OUT ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS.
HERE IS A TRUE STORY WHICH I THINK BEAUTIFULLY CAPTURES
THE REALITY OF FRIENDSHIP, BOTH WITH A SPECIAL PERSON,
AND WITH JESUS:
“AS PART OF AN ASSIGNMENT FOR A DOCTORAL THESIS,
A UNIVERSITY STUDENT SPENT A YEAR
WITH A GROUP OF NAVAJO INDIANS
ON A RESERVATION IN THE SOUTHWEST.
AS HE DID HIS RESEARCH HE LIVED WITH ONE FAMILY,
SLEEPING IN THEIR HUT, EATING THEIR FOOD, WORKING WITH THEM,
AND GENERALLY LIVING THE LIFE OF A TWENTIETH-CENTURY
NATIVE AMERICAN.
THE OLD GRANDMOTHER OF THE FAMILY SPOKE NO ENGLISH AT ALL,
YET A VERY CLOSE FRIENDSHIP FORMED BETWEEN THE TWO.
THEY SPENT A GREAT DEAL OF TIME SHARING A FRIENDSHIP
THAT WAS MEANINGFUL TO EACH,
YET UNEXPLAINABLE TO ANYONE ELSE.
IN SPITE OF THE LANGUAGE DIFFERENCE,
THEY SHARED THE COMMON LANGUAGE OF LOVE
AND UNDERSTOOD EACH OTHER.
OVER THE MONTHS HE LEARNED A FEW PHRASES OF NAVAJO,
AND SHE PICKED UP A LITTLE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
WHEN IT WAS TIME FOR HIM TO RETURN TO THE CAMPUS
AND WRITE HIS THESIS, THE TRIBE HELD A GOING-AWAY CELEBRATION.
IT WAS MARKED BY SADNESS SINCE THE YOUNG MAN
HAD BECOME CLOSE TO THE WHOLE VILLAGE
AND ALL WOULD MISS HIM.
AS HE PREPARED TO GET UP INTO THE PICKUP TRUCK AND LEAVE,
THE GRANDMOTHER CAME TO TELL HIM GOOD-BYE.
WITH TEARS STREAMING DOWN HER EYES, SHE PLACED HER HANDS
ON EITHER SIDE OF HIS FACE, LOOKED DIRECTLY INTO HIS EYES
AND SAID, “I LIKE ME BEST WHEN I’M WITH YOU.’”
THE SHARER OF THIS STORY GOES ON TO SAY:
“ISN’T THAT THE WAY WE FEEL IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS?
HE BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN US.
WE LEARN TO SEE OURSELVES AS WORTHY AND VALUABLE
WHEN WE ARE IN HIS PRESENCE.
THE HURTS, THE CARES, THE DISAPPOINTMENTS OF OUR LIVES
ARE BEHIND US WHEN WE LOOK IN HIS EYES
AND REALIZE THE DEPTH OF HIS LOVE.
OUR SELF-ESTEEM NO LONGER DEPENDS
ON WHAT WE HAVE DONE OR FAILED TO DO;
IT DEPENDS ONLY ON THE VALUE THAT HE PLACES ON US.”
I WOULD LIKE TO CLOSE THIS SERMON BY SAYING
THAT I HAVE KNOWN FAR TOO MANY
SO-CALLED “PROGRESSIVE” OR MAINLINE CHRISTIANS WHO REJECT
THE VERY NOTION OF FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS.
THEY DO THIS FOR TWO REASONS:
ONE, SINCE EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS TALK SO MUCH
ABOUT A “PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS,”
THEY WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS,
FEARING THAT FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS
WILL TURN THEM INTO FUNDAMENTALISTS.
MY RESPONSE TO “PROGRESSIVE” OR MAINLINE CHRISTIANS
WHO TAKE THIS TACK IS TO REMIND THEM
THAT FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS DOES NOT BELONG
JUST TO EVANGELICALS AND FUNDAMENTALISTS,
BUT IS AT THE VERY HEART OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
AND THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE EARLY CHURCH.
REASON NUMBER TWO FOR NOT DESIRING JESUS AS A FRIEND
IS THE FEAR THAT FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS
WILL SOMEHOW CAUSE THEM TO LOSE THEIR UNIQUE IDENTITY
AND TO BECOME PART OF A FORMLESS MASS.
TO THIS I RESPOND THAT ALL THE GREAT SPIRITUAL MASTERS
OF CHRISTIANITY – PEOPLE LIKE FRANCIS OF ASSISI,
HILDEGARD OF BINGEN, JULIA OF NORWICH, CATHERINE OF SIENA,
FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY, AND DIETRICH BONHOEFFER –
IN FACT, ALL OF THE DEEPEST PERSONS
WHO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES WITH JESUS,
ARE UNANIMOUS IN THEIR VERDICT
THAT BY GIVING THEMSELVES TO JESUS IN FRIENDSHIP,
NOT ONLY DO THEY NOT LOSE THEMSELVES,
BUT THAT THEY FIND THEIR TRUEST AND DEEPEST SELVES
FOR THE FIRST TIME.
TO A ONE, THEY WOULD ALL, LIKE THE NAVAJO GRANDMOTHER,
SAY ABOUT THEIR FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS:
“I LIKE ME BEST WHEN I’M WITH YOU.”
AMEN.