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

The Gospel reading which we heard today about the healing of the paralytic has been a Gospel reading that affected me ever since my childhood. I couldn’t imagine (as a Canadian, of course) how they could be taking apart the roof? Why would they take apart the roof, and then let this man in that way? Our roofs are not like Palestinian roofs. Now that I am older, I understand that it could be done. It wouldn’t be such a catastrophe to open the roof in Palestine.

If you open the roof here in Canada, you’re going to let in the rain and the snow, and it’s going to cost a lot of money to repair. However, in Palestine, and in Mediterranean parts of the world where the roofs are made out of clay tiles, those clay tiles are very moveable. All you have to do is take those tiles away, pile them up somewhere, and you have a big space. You can let a man who is paralysed down through the opening of the roof to where Jesus was sitting. (I’m glad that I understand that now, and I thought that I would tell you younger ones, because I am sure most of you would have the same sort of question in your minds. How could you open a roof?)

In the Gospel reading yesterday, just before this episode of the healing of the paralytic, Jesus is going out into all the parts of the countryside, and teaching everywhere out in the country because it was hard for Him in the town (cf. Mark 1:38, 39). People were crowding in on Him, and pressing close to Him, trying to hold on to Him. He still had to go, and preach, teach, and heal elsewhere, too. Now He has come back to Capernaum, and He is in a house, just as He was before. Just as before, it is so crowded that there is no room to move inside, and there are people outside as well. This man (that four men are trying to bring to Jesus) couldn’t be brought into the house because it is so crammed. So they let him down through the roof. Jesus says to the man: “Your sins are forgiven”. Of course, that causes a stir. For the people who were circumcised, that was a blasphemous thing to say. They say: How can you say such a thing? You’re only a human being. However, they didn’t know what we know about Jesus. He is not just an average person. He is the Son of God.

As always, Jesus is healing this man (or anyone that comes to Him) because when He says: “Your sins are forgiven”, the man is healed. The man is told to take away with him his pallet, and walk home (which he hadn’t been able to do). Of course, paralysis for us in Canada with socialised medicine and everything, is very inconvenient, and painful, but there are ways to get around it. We have social, and state support. However, in Palestine in those days (and in most parts of the world still to this day), there is no such support. A person who is paralysed, like this man was, has to beg. He has no way to support himself. It’s a very, very difficult situation to be in. We are really spoiled in Canada with all the support that we have. We give to each other because we pay taxes, and we actually do all of this (let the truth be known) because Canada had a Christian foundation in the first place. We are paying taxes, and helping people who are in need in this way because of our Christian history. However, in a lot of the world such support is not available.

Another thing that is important for us to remember is that when Jesus says: “Your sins are forgiven”, and this man gets up, and walks, for you, and for me there is a lesson – and that is that sin, in fact, does paralyse us. When we are living contrary to God’s life-giving will, we are inviting ourselves to be paralysed. Fear, which is one of the prime tools of the devil with us, is one of those paralysing things. We all remember, I’m sure, moments in our lives when we have felt paralysed by fear of one sort or another. Fear paralyses us, and sin paralyses us. It makes us incapable of moving, and doing what we need to do. It paralyses us from being able to walk in the path of the Lord.

However, the Lord, Himself, who forgave the sins of the paralytic so that he could walk, also forgives your sins, and my sins so that we can be healthy. He forgives us so that we can walk and actually more than walk. He forgives us so that we can be constructive, helpful, healthy, life-giving persons. When we are healed from our sin, and from the paralysis of sin, we are able to be like the Lord is, Himself, and like the Apostles are, and like many saints are.

We, by our prayers, by our example, can be life-giving, too, because the Saviour is shining through us, and He is working through us. He, Himself, is touching other people, straightening them out, and putting them in good order through us (often, even without our having to say anything). It is just because we love Him, and His love is active in us. He goes through us. He goes around us. He goes beneath us. Our hearts, when they are not paralysed by sin, by fear, act like this. They enable the Lord to act, and to act strongly as well, amongst those who are around us.

Let us ask the Lord this morning to renew this love, the love that He has for His children, the love that brought the healing of this man today, the love that brought the deliverance of the demon-possessed yesterday (cf. Mark 1:39), the love that heals broken bodies, broken hearts, broken souls. Let us ask that He refresh us in this love so that His love, and He, Himself, may work through us more and more clearly, and effectively so that in everything that we are, and are doing, He alone may be glorified, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, together with His Father, who is from everlasting, and His all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

† Archdiocese of Canada - Orthodox Church in America