Today's Lectio Divina reflection comes from yesterday's (Monday, December 10) gospel reading.
Luke 5:17 - 26
One day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there, and the power of the Lord was with him for healing.
And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;
they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence.
But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof
and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles
into the middle in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said,
"As for you, your sins are forgiven."
Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves,
"Who is this who speaks blasphemies?
Who but God alone can forgive sins?"
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply,
"What are you thinking in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, 'Rise and walk'?
But 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, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
He stood up immediately before them,
picked up what he had been lying on,
and went home, glorifying God.
Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God,
and, struck with awe, they said,
"We have seen incredible things today."
What struck me was the second paragraph: when Jesus saw their faith, he said: as for you, your sins are forgiven.
Their faith.
- not the paralyzed dude -
- his friends -
the ones who brought him, picked him up off of whatever surface he was lying on (bed, street - we don't know) - but they definitely picked him up because he was paralyzed
the ones who dared to hope for him, to believe for him
the ones who refused to give up simply because there was a crowd and the entry was blocked - the ones who persevered and came up with a new way to get their friend to Jesus
Their faith. Their faith demonstrated true phileo love - the love that goes out of the way for another - the love that climbs over another - the love that tears tiles out of a roof - and then trusts that someone inside is going to catch their friend on the stretcher when they lower it...LOVE. Love that demonstrates itself in persevering accompaniment. Love that lifts another out of their current situation and brings them to Jesus.
They brought their friend to Jesus for his healing - not for their own. As true friends they were not seeking anything for themselves...and so, Jesus speaks to them first.
Jesus immediately recognized their actions. The One who is Love recognizes love moving through faith. As for you, you who are acting as my disciples, I want you to know, your sins are forgiven. As he says to Zaccheus, Today the Lord has come to your house.
[And then of course the Pharisees get all up in arms - who is this Jesus to forgive sins? Does he think he's GOD? "Uh, yes, actually. ...and I don't think it, I AM."]
I think it's because of that exchange that I've always connected the "your sins are forgiven" to the paralyzed man - and not to his friends. ...but yesterday while listening, immediately, the Holy Spirit keyed me into they and their.
Week 2 of Advent is the theme of Peace. When reading this Gospel, it's easier to see hope and joy to me than peace. ...Finding the peace requires a deeper reflection.
What is the purpose of forgiving sins?
:removing the infinite barrier between us and God (done by Jesus' death on the cross)
:removing the physical, emotional, spiritual barriers between us and God, and us and others
to make way for - the subsequent indwelling of the Holy Spirit - the peace of God
What is the purpose of [supernaturally] healing the body?
:demonstrating the love of God (Father) through the power of God (Holy Spirit) for the purpose of bringing about a movement of greater faith in the world
....and those of you who have ever experienced a life-altering illness know the frustration, confusion, abandonment that can accompany those...what PEACE that man must have felt (in addition to the joy, obvi) when he stood up for the first time.
Who in my life does God want me to walk beside? Who in my life is feeling abandoned - and in need of friendship? Who is frustrated and confused? May I be a friend like these men...and may I be so full of love that I don't keep shouldering their burdens onto my own shoulders trying to fix them myself (guilty): may I love them so fiercely that I tear through a ceiling to get them to Jesus.
Come Holy Spirit, embodiment of Peace.
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