Deep Thinking

When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So I many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,   “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 

At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’? But so 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, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

An excellent way of meditating upon stories in the Bible is to put yourself in the shoes of every character in the story, both major and minor. We can learn many lessons using this method. Today’s passage is an ideal example. There are six players in this story, including groups of people. One, the paralytic. Two, his friend. Three, the three friends of the friend. Four, Jesus. Five, the scribes. And six, the crowd. If we put ourselves in the shoes of the paralytic and think about it, we might realize that although we are not paralyzed physically, we may be crippled emotionally or spiritually. What do we do? Well, we need to go to Jesus

If we put ourselves in the place of the friend, we might realize that we rarely exert any effort to take our friends to Jesus, even though we see them suffering. Reflecting upon this might give us the impetus to do so. If we put ourselves in the shoes of the friend’s friends, we might realize that we don’t lend our support to those who are trying to help others, and consequently, be determined to lend a hand in the future. If we put ourselves in the place of the scribes, we might realize how often we go to listen to preachers and teachers, not to learn from them but to judge them.

If we put ourselves in the place of Jesus, we might realize how unwilling we are to let ourselves be inconvenienced by people. Jesus allowed crowds of people to pack his house (Yes, this was his house! I don’t know why we seem to think that Jesus didn’t have a house of his own!) But not only did he allow people to fill his house, he made no protest when some of them began to dismantle his roof! Even though he was a carpenter by profession, who could fix it again, it would certainly take him some time to do so. Yet, he didn’t seem to mind because he felt that here was a tremendous teaching opportunity.

If we put ourselves in the place of the crowd, we might realize how selfish we are in nature. There were people who tried to enter with a friend who was paralyzed, yet they made no effort to make place for them. Quite obviously there was place in the house if a man could be lowered into their midst, but they wanted to be comfortable with Jesus. Did anything he say change their hearts and lives? 

Did the miracle they witnessed serve to make them realize that God was in their midst?  

Let us reflect deeply upon the word of God if we are to be changed.