FRIENDSHIP

 One day, while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting near by (they had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem); and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. Just then some men came, carrying a paralyzed man on a bed. They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. When he saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, “Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the one who was paralyzed—“I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home.” Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God. Amazement seized all of them, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen strange things today.”

If we were to reflect deeply upon this passage, we would literally find dozens of life lessons that we could learn. However, I’d like to focus on just one of them, because we can easily overlook it in the midst of all the drama taking place. It’s a lesson about friendship, and the lengths to which one man will go to help out his friend who is paralyzed. One day this man happens to hear that a guy called Jesus has healed a leper. The only time he has heard of somebody being healed of leprosy was when the prophet Elisha healed Naaman way back in the good old days (see 2 Kings 5).

The first thing that crosses his mind is that this man might be able to heal his friend. But he won’t be able to get him to Jesus on his own since the guy was paralyzed. He would obviously need to be carried to Jesus on a stretcher. This would require three other men. So he recruits three people he knows to assist him, probably bribing them with a free meal or free drinks or both. When they go to pick up the paralyzed man, they are met with opposition from him, because he is fed up with running from pillar to post seeking healing. Nothing has worked! Even the healing retreats he attended didn’t do anything.

However, despite his protests, they put him on the stretcher and carry him to the house where Jesus is preaching. (By the way, do you know whose house it was? Read the passage and figure it out for yourself. You are in for a pleasant surprise!) Anyway, when they reach the house, it is full of people and they cannot enter. Undaunted, he decides to climb up to the roof and lower his friend through it! Have you ever tried to climb up a roof on your own? Can you imagine climbing onto a roof with a man on a stretcher? But this man did that. Then he dismantled the roof and lowered his friend at the feet of Jesus. Jesus, of course, healed him.

Now, here is a question for you. Do you have friends you care about? Ok, it was a stupid question. Of course you have friends you care about! Here’s another question. How much do you care about any of them to want to take them to Jesus?  And if you do care about them enough to want to take them to Jesus, how much effort have you expended to do so? But you might say, “My friends aren’t paralyzed.” Well, perhaps not physically, but many of them are spiritually. If we really care about them, then we must do what we can to ensure they are healed, no? Because the consequences are eternal.

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/f7UVDcQ6s-c