Sermon by Pastor Mike Buttonnn

Sin-Sickness-Forgiveness-Health
Text:  Mark 2: 1-12

NRS Mark 2:1 When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 So 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. 3 Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 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. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
 7 "Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
 8 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?
 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up and take your mat and walk'? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-- he said to the paralytic-- 11 "I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home." 12 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!"

            May the Lord keep all your days and deeds in amazing grace and surpassing love; for the sake of Jesus the Messiah. Amen. 

If you went to visit a friend in the hospital, the last thing you’d do is start asking them what they did wrong to land themselves in the sick ward.  That would be rude and insensitive, besides utterly lacking in compassion.  But there’s a good chance that your friend may be asking him or herself that exact question.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called on a person in the hospital when, out of the blue, I’m asked, “Pastor, is God punishing me?  Have I brought this illness on myself?” 
The Bible often draws a link between sin and sickness.  In Psalm 41, the psalmist cries out to God, “Heal me, for I have sinned against you” (v. 4).  Likewise, in Psalm 103, healing is celebrated in shouts of thanksgiving to the God who “forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases” (v. 3).  Sometimes it’s pretty easy to connect the dots and draw a direct line between sinful deeds and mortal illness.  When people love neither God nor themselves nor their neighbor, we know that bad things can, and often do, happen, including fatal injuries and dread diseases.  On the other hand, there are plenty of people who love God mightily and truly love their neighbors as themselves, but who nonetheless suffer terrible sickness.  I think of poor, old Job, covered in sores, pounding his head, “What did I do, what did I do, what did I do?”  And of course, the answer is nothing. 

In the reading from Mark 2, Jesus heals a paralytic, declaring to him, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”  It’s an odd choice of words, given that there’s no indication that this man’s personal sin was in any way the cause of his paralysis.  On the contrary, you can easily argue that this man must have been an extraordinary person to inspire such great love in his friends.  Not only do his comrades carry him to Jesus, but when their way to Jesus is blocked by the crowds, they bear this man up onto the roof of the building where Jesus is staying.  They then dig through the roof and, lowering their friend down on the mat where he lay, they present him to Jesus for healing.  Jesus himself is impressed, since, according to Mark, it’s the faith of these friends that leads Jesus to say, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”  But does that mean that the paralyzed man must have committed some heinous sin to deserve such a devastating illness?  Not necessarily. 

Two things:  One, I think it’s likely that Jesus, drawing on the tradition of the psalms, speaks here in a way that makes a distinction between his work and that of other healers.  Healers were, you know, a common fixture in the ancient world.  They often wandered from place to place, probably to insure that they stayed a step or two ahead of their disgruntled customers.  They would mix a little folk medicine with a little popular magic, and then, presto-change-o, take up a collection and get out of town before anyone was the wiser.  Jesus, however, wants people to understand that his healing is not a gimmick, but a true manifestation of divine authority.  Quacks and tricksters wave wands and recite spells, but only the Son of God can say, “Your sins are forgiven.”   I wonder if Jesus uses these words precisely to draw the ire of the attending Pharisees.  It’s almost like he wants them to object, so that he can demonstrate God’s power. 

And thing two:  When the Bible speaks of your sins, or my sins, or the sins of the world, does the Word of God mean sins like the list Santa prints out every year, you know, the one he checks twice to find out who’s been naughty and who’s been …?  Yes, that one!  Is sin like the checks our teachers would mark by our names on the blackboard in grade school when we’d misbehave?  Get three checks and go to the principal’s office.  Is that how God keeps order in the universe, putting checks by our names until he drops a brick on our head?  In St. Paul’s theology, sin has to do with this world’s brokenness.  Sin is not so much black marks by our name in a big book that St. Peter keeps, but rather, sin is more like a power that keeps us from realizing God’s will in our lives. Remember how St. Paul wrote about how he ends up doing the exact opposite of what he wants to do, because, in his words, “there is another law at work in my members.”  The power of sin becomes manifest in our moral failures, certainly, but also in our mortal bodies.  When we speak of the fall of Adam and Eve, we mean that all creation fell with them.  Everything was put out of joint, which means that sin weakens not only our moral will, but also reaches down into the molecular level of our own cellular functions, constantly seeking to thwart the will that God purposes for our entire lives. 

Consequently, when the Pharisees accuse Jesus of blasphemy, he asks them, “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’?” Jesus’ point is that the end result is the same.  Forgiveness and healing are two sides of the same coin.  When God releases us from the power of sin, he makes us whole, restoring us to the mission for which we were created, namely, to love God and love neighbor. 
I read somewhere about a form of torture where the prisoner was placed and kept in an undersized cell, such that he could never fully stretch out, never stand, sit, or lay down.  I can’t imagine the pain, both psychological and physical.  But that’s what sin does to us.  It boxes us in.  It keeps us cramped and crimped and miserable.  Forgiveness is God’s word to deliver us from that stunted to kind of life, healing us to live great, large, abundant lives. 

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.