Text: Luke 5:17-26
Theme: Give thanks for our compassionate Lord!
Week 3 of three-week series “In View of God’s Mercy”
(1 – Use God’s Gifts; 2 – Fulfill your calling; 3 – Give Thanks to God)
What was life like for that man? I don’t know how long he was paralyzed, or even how he came to be paralyzed. Luke was a doctor, and Luke’s word choice points us toward some sort of accident that robbed this poor man of his ability to walk. What was life like for him?
Maybe he remembered back to his younger years, when he could run and jump and play tag at school. Maybe he thought back to walking to work every day, and how he just took that commute for granted. Maybe he felt guilty because now his wife and children had to take care of him – the opposite of the way things used to be. In fact, everything was the opposite of how things used to be.
Now, he spent his days on a mat. He lay inside his house in Capernaum, looking out the window and unable to move himself. Some friends might come and bring him outside, so that he could enjoy the sun and the birds and the feel of a breeze through his hair. Pretty regularly, those friends might grab the handholds at the corners of the mat and bring him places – up into the foothills, or down by the Sea of Galilee.
But it was still embarrassing. Some days were better than others; on the good days, he could enjoy the fact that he was still alive. On the bad days, his mind just kept cycling through a list of the things he couldn’t do, all the things that everyone else had to do for him now. And all too often, his dreams were haunted by the memories of that fateful day. He could remember the accident in slow-motion, 1080p high definition. Even in his sleep he couldn’t run away from this frustrating prison cell that his body had become.
What have I done to deserve this? Is God punishing me for something I’ve done? Why did this happen?
And every year when Thanksgiving rolled around, as someone fed him his slices of turkey and scoops of stuffing, this man wondered to himself: What do I have to be thankful for?
Every now and then, news reached his ears – news of some miraculous cure, or of some new treatment. But he kept hearing one name over and over: Jesus! Jesus! Even in this same town, Jesus of Nazareth had driven out an evil spirit. Jesus had healed Simon’s mother-in-law. Jesus simply touched people who had all sorts of diseases and sicknesses, and just like that they were healed. Demons came out of people, shouting “You are the Son of God!”
But then Jesus left the area. That faint glimmer of hope was gone. Back to the daily grind of this mat. Back to another day of watching other people walk, run, even complain about their sore feet after a long day’s work. Those people who could still walk, and run, and jump, and skip probably didn’t even realize how much of a blessing it was, just to be able to walk! And rather than being thankful for a complete and functioning body, how easy is it to complain about sore feet after a long day?
Isn’t that how thankfulness works – that we aren’t thankful for a blessing until we see life without that blessing? We are surrounded by God’s blessings every day. Just take this morning, for instance. You woke up, probably in a warm bed, and opened your eyes to see a ceiling above your head. You got cleaned up and drove here, and you didn’t have to face any jeering peers. We are free to worship God here, without fear. You can take a deep breath and fill your lungs with oxygen. Up in the sky, the sun continues to warm the earth and give plants the energy to make food.
And yet, we don’t take the time to thank God for his blessings until that blessing is taken from us. A good night’s sleep in a warm bed isn’t as common as you might think it is. How many people in Ottawa wake up on a park bench or in a shelter, rather than in their own home with their own family? How many countries in the world have been blessed as abundantly as Canada? How many countries have the freedoms that Canada has?
Do we always thank God for our blessings – or do we grumble that a blessing isn’t enough? Do I thank God for a job, a house, a paycheque, a family, another day of grace – or do I complain about the hours, the leaky faucet, the bills, the irritating kids, and the weather?
God has given us all sorts of blessings – and he wants us to receive them thankfully! Yes, the earth is the LORD’s and everything in it – and God has given each of us a generous slice of his EVERYTHING! Do we realize it and receive these blessings with thanksgiving – or do we take them for granted?
“But Pastor – what’s so special about the sun, or the furnace, or the pantry? The sun shines every day! My furnace kicks in, every morning! The ocean gives fish, the fields give grain, every day! Hospitals still deliver babies, every day! These things always happen!”
Is something insignificant just because it happens every day? Is something less of a miracle just because it happens every day? If the sun stopped shining for ten days, suddenly it would be a great thing to wake up to a beautiful pink sunrise! If your furnace or car suddenly didn’t work for a week – it sure would make you be thankful for the times it did run!
If your legs didn’t work, you certainly would be grateful for the beautiful throbbing of your feet after a long day’s walk. If you spent your life lying on a mat, you’d be grateful for your friends who came and carried you around from place to place.
That paralyzed man had some caring friends. You could imagine the conversation: “Hey, I hear Jesus is gonna be back in town tomorrow! We’ll come pick you up around 10 – okay? He can help.”
Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. They get to the house – and the house is packed. Maybe they stand on their toes, trying to see over peoples’ heads. Jesus is all the way in the back of the house! Sure, the little kids can run in between everyone’s feet – but we’ve got a guy on a mat! What can we do?
When they couldn’t bring the man into the house because of the crowd, they went up on the roof. Mark tells us that these guys dug through the roof! It wasn’t just a thatched roof – they were tearing off shingles, digging through the dirt that served as insulation, ripping out joists and beams. The people below probably noticed dirt & dust drifting down – what’s going on here?
And then the ceiling tiles were lifted out. The man’s friends lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. Everyone down below stares up in amazement – what’s this? A skylight? The mat is lowered down by ropes, and the crowd finds a little bit of space. You could imagine the man’s thoughts: Here I am! I’m right in front of Jesus! This is exciting – he can help, I’m sure of it! What’s the first thing I’ll do when I can walk?
When Jesus saw their faith – that is, when Jesus saw that the man’s friends trusted Jesus enough to remodel a house and lower their friend on ropes – when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man: “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
And that one sentence from Jesus set the whole world straight for that man. My sins are forgiven! Forgiven! Jesus looked at this man and knew how long this man had been lying on a mat. Jesus knew about bed sores and the man’s desire to walk again. Jesus knew the bitterness and frustration this man must have felt at being confined to a six-foot by three-foot piece of canvas…and Jesus gave this man what he most needed: forgiveness.
Of course, the scribes & the Pharisees know their Old Testaments. They know that only God can forgive sins – and so they begin thinking to themselves: Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone? Good question! Who CAN forgive sins but God alone?
Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
Well, if that didn’t set them straight! Jesus knows what they’re thinking! And so Jesus challenges them: “What, do you want me to make him walk, too? Do you want proof that I can forgive sins? Here, I’ll make him walk.”
What point was Jesus making? The man on the mat got it loud and clear. That man had been wondering, thinking, pondering, wishing he could walk. That man spent days, weeks, months, even years – lying on a mat and watching children run by, watching the elderly walk by. Maybe he felt he was missing out on life. But there, after being lowered down through a roof into the middle of a crowd, God’s priorities were made clear. As great as any earthly blessing is, forgiveness of sins is greater.
As great as functioning legs, indoor plumbing, entertainment, good jobs, sunshine, sports, and food are – these things are temporary blessings. God’s greatest and best blessing is his Son. As great as any earthly blessing is, forgiveness of sins is greater.
Jesus even said: “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” Did you catch it? Son of MAN. Jesus points to himself and says: Yeah, I’m human! I’m a human being! And as a human being, who looks and talks and has emotions like any other human being, I FORGIVE YOU. Jesus was standing right there in front of the paralytic – and Jesus was both the forgiver and the forgiveness.
No mere creature is able to cleanse hearts and consciences from sin – because this power and responsibility and right belongs to God alone. But, right here Scripture tells us that Christ does not cleanse consciences from sin simply by snapping his divine fingers – Jesus brings his human nature into this cleansing, this forgiveness. Jesus did so, first, by shedding his blood for the forgiveness of sins. Second, Jesus applies this to each of us when a pastor or a fellow Christian says to you: I forgive you in the name of Jesus Christ. The blood of Christ, shed once for all, cleanses our consciences from sin – and this is something which the hollow and deceptive philosophies of this world cannot do. This forgiveness, carried out by God and announced by Christians to fellow Christians, is something to be truly thankful for, because God has forgiven you.
Our second reading, from Colossians, also stands as a witness to this fact: by his death on the cross, Christ has blotted out God’s divine regulations which stood opposed to us. God’s law, with all its demands and threats and punishments, were nailed to the cross when Christ’s body was nailed to the cross. It is there, at that place, that God has forgiven our sins and freed us from punishment. Christ took on human flesh in order to rescue humans from sin and death – in order to free people from the demands of God’s law and the punishment that was hanging over our heads. In a very real and physical way, Jesus has offered his entire body and blood on your behalf and as your substitute.
God has forgiven you for shallow, now & then thankfulness. God has forgiven you for taking his blessings for granted. God’s blessings can only be truly appreciated by believers – because only believers can welcome and receive these blessings as opportunities to glorify God.
Imagine yourself, once more, back into the middle of that crowded room. Up above, a skylight with a few faces peering down. Around your feet, pieces of dirt and dust. In front of you, a man on a mat – smiling, because he has been forgiven. Jesus looking at him the way God looks at his beloved and forgiven children. In the background, religious leaders scoffing and thinking to themselves: Yeah, but this Jesus isn’t ALLOWED to forgive sins!
And then Jesus speaks, once more: Get up. Take your mat. Go home.
Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.
You want proof of your forgiveness? Look at these two men standing right before your eyes; one, the Forgiver; one, the forgiven. The forgiven, a man who hadn’t walked since the Trudeau government; the Forgiver, God himself who had no beginning and yet was a 30-something year old man. Your jaw just drops to the ground, you can do nothing but fall face down in awe and praise and thanksgiving.
Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
Remarkable things. A group of friends – 5, 10, 15, we don’t know how many – who brought their friend to Jesus. Friends who dug through a roof to get this man to Jesus. A man lowered on ropes. Jesus, true man, forgiving sins – because Jesus is also true God. A paralytic on a mat, getting up and walking home.
If you’re wondering what to thank God for today, or if you’re concerned because you have taken God’s countless gifts for granted: God has forgiven you.
And today, if you’re looking for things to thank God for – just consider the opposite of a blessing. This man thanked God for forgiveness – because he had not known the peace of forgiveness. This man ran and jumped and walked joyfully – because he knew what life on a mat was like.
Do you take your brothers and sisters for granted? Imagine life without them – life with no encouragement in the faith, no announcement or reminder of God’s forgiveness, no sense of a family who truly understands.
Do you take your indoor plumbing for granted? Ask the 2.6 billion people who don’t have it.
Do you take your religious freedom for granted, as though Jesus is as optional as croutons on a salad? Ask Yosef Nadarkhani about religious freedom. Yosef is the pastor for several small Christian churches in Iran, and Yosef has been told to either renounce his faith or be hanged for the crime of converting to Christianity. Yosef has given the Iranian equivalent of “Here I stand; I can do no other.”
Friends: God has blessed us very, very, very, very, very much. Christians have always celebrated Thanksgiving – because God has always abundantly blessed his children in every way. First and foremost among those blessings is forgiveness through Jesus. Celebrate Thanksgiving today, tomorrow, and every day – because every day is a new day lived IN VIEW OF GOD’S MERCY. Give thanks for our compassionate Lord! Amen.
