From Forward Day by Day
Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
In the story of Jesus healing the paralytic, love and faith are closely united. Four people hear that Jesus is in the neighborhood and that he might be able to heal their paralyzed friend. They can’t get through the crowd. Undeterred and desperate, they hack their way through the ceiling. They don’t have any proof that Jesus can help, but their love drives them to hope for the impossible and to believe in it enough to take crazy risks for their friend. Their faith moves Jesus.
Mark sets the faith of the paralytic and his friends against the scribes’ skepticism. Presented with a man who offers the hope that he can forgive evil, the scribes instantly assume that Jesus is lying. The scribes would rather know blasphemy than foolishly hope Jesus might really be able to offer healing and reconciliation.
May God grant us the strength to stop trying to be clever. May God give us the courage to keep tearing down the barriers between ourselves and the Christ who can heal our broken world.
