Perspective: You Are Forgiven

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You Are Forgiven

I alone am the one
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.

Isaiah 43:25 (NRSVUE)

I start again
And whatever pain may come
Today this ends
I'm forgiving what I've done

From "What I've Done" by Linkin Park

In the Gospels, we read a story about a group of people who want to take their friend to Jesus.  Their friend is paralyzed, so they put him on a stretcher and carry him to the place where Jesus is reportedly staying.  When they arrive, they find that so many people have gathered at the house to see Jesus that they are unable to get their friend into the house.  Unwilling to admit defeat, the friends climb up to the roof of the house, tear a hole in the roof, and lower their paralyzed friend into the room right in front of Jesus.¹

Moved by the faith of these "stretcher bearers," Jesus says to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."²

Today I want to consider why this group of people wanted to take their friend to see Jesus in the first place.  Typically, we assume that they want their friend to see Jesus so that he may be healed of his paralysis.  Undoubtedly they have heard about Jesus' healing many people while He was staying in their town previously.³  That said, I cannot help but notice that, though it would be obvious to Jesus that the man being lowered through the ceiling is paralyzed, His first impulse is to tell him that his sins are forgiven.

Sadly, we know very little about the man who is brought to Jesus.  We do not know what injury or illness has caused his paralysis, and we do not know what happened in his life before his encounter with Jesus.  All we know about him is that he has friends who love him dearly and are willing to do whatever it takes to get him in front of Jesus.  We are left to speculate about everything else.

Scholar William Barclay points out that, in Jesus' day, it is believed that a person's suffering is the result of the person's wrongdoings.  If someone believes that her physical malady is punishment for some transgression on her part, then she must first experience forgiveness before she can be healed.  Highlighting the power of the subconscious mind over the human body, Barclay goes so far as to suggest that even a condition like paralysis can possibly be a physical manifestation of emotions like guilt.⁴

What if the paralyzed man is wracked with guilt over something he did in the past?  What if he believes that whatever illness or injury that caused his paralysis is punishment from God for what he did?  What if his friends have heard Jesus' message in the past and know that Jesus is not only a healer but also a man of grace and mercy?  What if these people put forth all the effort of carrying their friend on a stretcher to where Jesus is staying and tearing a hole in the roof just so that he can hear from Jesus that he is forgiven?

Not all healing is physical, and a message of forgiveness is one we all need to hear.

A week ago, I attended a church service that included Holy Communion.  During the Communion liturgy, the congregation prayed prayers of confession, and then the pastor and the rest of the congregation said to each other, "In name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!"⁵  A couple of days later, I lay down to take a nap, and, to wind down, I listened to a relaxation video that featured positive affirmations.  I could not help but take notice when the person in the video whispered, "You're allowed to forgive yourself."  The need for forgiveness is universal.

After Jesus tells the paralyzed man that his sins are forgiven, some religious scholars who are present accuse Jesus of "insulting God," since only God has the authority to forgive sins.  Jesus points out that telling a paralyzed man that his sins are forgiven is a lot easier than telling him to stand up and walk.  Then, to prove that He has has been authorized to forgive sins, He tells the man to stand up, to pick up his stretcher, and to walk.  The formerly paralyzed man, rises from his stretcher, completely healed.⁶

One version of the story tells us that the people who witness this miracle are awestruck because God "had given such authority to human beings."⁷  The writer does not make it clear whether the authority entrusted to humans is the authority to heal or the authority to forgive.  Truth be told, we do not need the authority to forgive in order to tell people that they are forgiven; we just need the knowledge that our God is a God of forgiveness.  The story of Jesus' healing the paralyzed man is, in the words of William Barclay, "a lovely story because the first thing that Jesus does for every one of us is to say, 'Child, God is not angry with you.  Come home, and don't be afraid.'"⁸

Sometimes the good news we need to hear the most is that we are forgiven.  We have all done things we should not have done, so we all need forgiveness.  When people in our midst are paralyzed by guilt, may we share the message of forgiveness with them, because our God is a forgiving God.  When we are wronged by others, may we find it in our hearts to forgive as we have been forgiven.  When we have to face our own guilt, may we find it in our hearts to forgive ourselves so that we may move forward.


Notes:

1. Mark 2:1-4
2. Mark 2:5 (NRSV)
3. Mark 1:21-34
4. William Barclay.  The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark.  2001, Saint Andrew Press.  pp. 54-55
5. "A Service of Word and Table I and Introductions to the Other Forms."  Discipleship Ministries.
6. Mark 2:6-12 (NRSV)
7. Matthew 9:8 (NRSV)
8. Barclay, p. 55

Le paralytique descendu du toit was painted by James Tissot in the late 1800s.