The Miracle of Caring – Jesus Revealed Part I

Sermon Title: “Take Up Your Mat and Walk”: The Miracle of Caring

Good News Statement: Christ cares for us as we care for others and Christ

Preached: Sunday, January 08, 2022 at Dogwood Prairie UMC & Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NKJV): Mark 2:1-12 Today’s scripture reading comes from the Gospel of Mark chapter two verses one thru twelve. In this passage, Mark tells his readers about a miracle involving Jesus and a paralytic man.

 

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic

2 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. ² Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. ³ Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. ⁴ And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

⁶ And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸ But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? ¹⁰ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, ¹¹ “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” ¹² Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

 

Introduction:

The old man placed an order for one hamburger, French fries and a drink. He unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half, placing one half in front of his wife. He then carefully counted out the French fries, dividing them into two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them.

As he began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the people around them were looking over and whispering. They were thinking, ‘That poor old couple all they can afford is one meal for the two of them.’ As the man began to eat his fries a young man came to the table and politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple. The old man politely declined, saying they were just fine, and were used to sharing everything.

People closer to the table noticed the little old lady hadn’t eaten a bite. She sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink. Again, the young man came over and begged them to let him buy another meal for them. This time the old woman said ‘No, thank you, we are used to sharing.’
Finally, as the old man finished and was wiping his face neatly with the napkin, the young man again came over to the little old lady who had yet to eat a single bite of food and asked ‘What is it you are waiting for?’ She answered: ‘The teeth”

Sharing is caring. During life we find ourselves caring for someone, caring for ourselves, and caring for something. We care about what we do, possibly what others do, how we feel, and how others feel. We care about where we go and how we will get there. Let’s face it, during life we care about a lot of things and people. As we care for these things and for others, we end up sharing, with them and these things, a part of us: we become concerned, we offer our interest, and sometimes we give of our time. But what does it mean to care?

In English, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, care is defined as “The provision of what is necessary for the health, welfare, maintenance, and protection of someone or something.” The Merriam-Webster dictionary also defines care as “to feel concern or have interest; attach importance to something.” In Greek, care is associated with words such as relief, hospitality, worry, and look after.” So when someone says “sharing is caring” or when you show care to a friend, family member, loved one, or even a stranger, you are sharing with that person a moment of your time as you give them attention with hopes of offering some sort of relief, concern, and hospitality that will make them feel better or have a better outlook in life. Sharing is caring, and caring can change the world one heart at a time. Offering care can be seen as a miracle. Jesus cares for us as we care for others.

 

Body:

From our scripture reading, the miraculous works of Jesus are revealed to us through his willingness to heal a paralytic man and proclaim in front of scribes and Pharisees and all those gathered in Capernaum that this man’s sins “have been forgiven.” Jesus, who wishes to remain secretive, who goes off to the wilderness to pray in solitude (Mark 1:25),  and who in Mark chapter one tells the man of leprosy, after being healed, “See that you do not tell this to anyone” (Mark 1:44), is publicly announcing that he has been given divine authority to heal, to forgive sins, to do things that other religious figures can’t do: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7). Jesus performs a miracle: he commands the paralytic man to “take [his] mat and go home” (Mark 2:11).

Jesus could have ignored the paralytic man. Jesus could have gotten upset at that those carrying this man for destroying someone’s property. Jesus could have condemned those who allowed this intrusion upon his proclamation of the good news. But Jesus didn’t. Jesus gave his time and attention to this paralytic man; and by doing so, Jesus showed us all what it means to care for those in our life whether we know them or not, whether they are perfect or not, whether they sin or ask for forgiveness, and whether or not they follow Christ. Offering care comes in many forms and practices to many kinds of people in many different places and spaces. The only limitation of care, however, is whether or not the one wanting to do the caring follows through on what God is calling them to do. The story of the paralytic man calls us to put our willingness to care in action: it won’t be easy but it is necessary. And at times we will need to take drastic actions, change our plans, and take up our own mat and walk. Are we willing to set aside our own plans for the sake of potentially making someone’s day? Are we willing to do that as a disciple? Are we willing to do that as a church? Christ cares for us so that we may care for others.

The story or miracle of the paralyzed man begins by reminding us that Jesus, after healing a man of leprosy, returns to Capernaum where he recently healed the mother-in-law of Simon. The text says, “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home” (Mark 2:1). We know that Jesus isn’t from Capernaum: Mark tells us in chapter one that Jesus is from Nazareth (Mark 1:9, 24). Jesus is labeled as a Nazarene according to Matthew 2:23. But yet, Capernaum is Jesus’ home. Capernaum was a fishing village located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Matthew states, Capernaum borders “Zabulon and Nephthalim” (Matthew 4:13). Capernaum is considered “home” because this is where Jesus finds rest and this is the town where Jesus begins his initial teachings about his Father’s Kingdom, the need for repentance and hence reconciliation, and the sense that divine authority and justice is breaking through the heavens. Mark is reminding us that care isn’t something we just do: it is something that carries meaning and importance in our life, just like where we call home does, and it travels with us wherever we go. Care grounds us for what is to come, and what is to come are masses of people who need healing, help, and to be seen.

Mark tells us, “They [the masses of people] gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on” (Mark 2:2-4). Most houses in lower Galilee, even the larger ones, could not accommodate more than a few dozen people. For Mark, the numbers are not important; the focus is on how people want to get to Jesus. People want to get to Jesus. People need to get to Jesus. You and I need to find ways and methods every day to get to Jesus. Without Jesus in our life, we are nothing, we are nothing more than the “creaking of a rusty gate” as Paul tells the people of Corinth (1 Corinthians 13:1-7). Without Jesus, we can’t care for others the way he needs us to care for them.

Going back to the house, it seems as if his house becomes a hospital—a place of healing and hospitality. In a recent song published by Matthew West, West wrote, “But didn’t you say church should be more like a hospital.” Jesus’ home becomes a place for the sick, a resting place for the tired and weary, a healing place for the injured, and a sacred space for the lost. Jesus’ home models what every church should be like: every church should be a hospital because every one that walks through its doors needs to be healed. But are we the church that God has called us to be? Are people coming here to be healed?

The story tells us that four people came carrying this paralytic man on a mat and lifted him up to the roof because there was no other way to get to Jesus through the many people. I don’t know who these bed-bearers are. They could be friends, relatives, servants, or even slaves. They could be both men and women. We can only speculate who they might be, but we do know that they did whatever they could to get the paralyzed man to Jesus. Mark tells us they dug through the muddy roof while Luke replaces the mud roof with tile. It doesn’t matter what the roof was made out of; what matters is the effort that was put forth to offer this man as much care as possible.

This scene sheds light on the words of Paul, who wrote in Galatians 6:1-2, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” As with bearing the burdens of another, we can see the paralyzed man as a “burden,” but, better, we can see him as a blessing, since by carrying him, those who bear him up are shown to be models of faith. This particular scene teaches us that to offer the care of Jesus means that we do so with compassion, love, kindness, patience, and gentleness: we must be willing to tear down whatever barrier is keeping us from be able to bring healing to the people. If we want to care like Jesus cares, then we have to take risks and perform drastic actions. We have to do what we can as a disciple and as a church to bring people to Jesus. But are we doing that?

Because of the actions and risks of the four persons, Jesus saw their faith (Mark 2:5). The Greek term translated “faith” is pistis, and it also means “trust.” Jesus saw their faith and trust in their own ability to get the paralyzed man to him. They may well have had faith and trust in themselves. They managed to carry the paralyzed man safely, without dropping him, got him up to the rooftop, got him down through the hole they dug, and lowered him safely to the ground. They got this paralyzed man to Jesus. Because of their actions, their willingness to put this man before themselves, Jesus saw their faith and this man was not only healed but his sins were forgiven. This man was healed inside and out.

The actions, faith, and trust of these four individuals—friends, family, servants, or slaves—reminds me of a quote from scholar and theologian Henri Nouwen. This quote isn’t the most cheerful or even the most uplifting; as a matter of fact it is rather daunting and sad. However, the ending message is filled with hope. The ending message reminds us all of how powerful and life-saving caring for someone can be.

Henri Nouwen, from his book The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society, states, “Thousands of people commit suicide because there is nobody waiting for them tomorrow. There is no reason to live if there is nobody to live for. But when someone says to a fellow human being, ‘I will not let you go. I am going to be here tomorrow waiting for you and I expect you not to disappoint me,’ then tomorrow is no longer an endless dark tunnel. It becomes flesh and blood in the form of the brother or sister who is waiting [for you].” Who are you being called to be there for? Who needs care in your life? Who needs to know that you are going to be there tomorrow? Caring is more than a simple act: it is a God-given gift that can save someone’s life, bring comfort to the sick, strength to the weak, and healing to the hurting.  When we care we find ourselves being able to say “take up your mat and walk.” When we care we become a miracle.

Conclusion:

Mark concludes this story, after pointing out that Jesus is questioned by the scribes and Pharisees, “ Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7), by telling us that the paralyzed man had been healed and cared for. Mark writes, when quoting Jesus, “’I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’” (Mark 2:11-12).

The miracle of the paralyzed man confirms Jesus’ ability to forgive sins; it amazes the crowd; and it prompts giving thanks to God. And it invites us to re-examine what we mean when we say “sharing is caring.” Caring is not just something we are told to do, it should be something that we want to do, that we need to do, and that we strive to do. Caring is about putting others first, about taking risks, about engaging in drastic actions at times, and about doing everything we can in the moment to bring peace and comfort to those around us as we lead them to Christ.

If we take time to care like Jesus cares—with love, compassion, kindness, and generosity—we too can be perform miracles or perhaps become a miracle for someone in our life. The paralyzed man’s identity was changed: he was brought to Jesus by caregivers, but leaves on his own; he came in through the roof, but walks out the door; the mat held him up, but now he holds the mat; and he came in with sins of whatever sort, but is now forgiven. It’s amazing to think about how a simple act of care can change someone’s life and possibly save their life. Christ cares for us so that we know what it is like to care for others. What can you do to care for others more? How can you show others that you care for them? How can this church be a place associated with acts of care and kindness?  The time has come to pick up your own mat so that you can walk to others who need to know that they, too, can pick up their mat and walk. How do you show you care for others in your life?

 

Closing Prayer:

Let us Pray…Dear Jesus, help us to be like one of the four individuals carry the mat of the paralyzed man: guide our hearts to offer support and care to those in our life. Help us to be the caring people and church that you have called us to be. Allow us to be a miracle for your people. Amen.

 

Benediction:

The story of the paralyzed man is not just about revealing Jesus as a miracle worker and doer: it is also about calling all of us to do what Jesus needs us to do. And Jesus needs us to care for those in our life, in our church, and in our community with love, compassion, kindness, and generosity. May God bless you with strength and faith and trust to care as Christ cares for you. Go, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit as you become a caring miracle for many. And all God’s people said, “Amen.” Amen. Amen.