The great promise of life, the desire of every human heart, was the clear concern of the people who crowded around the house where Jesus was staying in Capernaum. The great preacher was back in town, and “nobody speaks like this manâ€. People wanted to listen to Him. What He said was inspiring. He was not preaching revolution against authorities, or the fight for greater prosperity. It was something deeper than that. He got to your heart. He made you think. He challenged you about your life now, not next week. And He had a power of healing. When the papalyzed man was lowered through the roof, it just showed how detemined people were to get to Jesus. The sick man must have come with tremendous hope in his heart. The ability to walk again! It is my legs I need! But Jesus wants to show people that our legs are not all we need. To be physically independent is wonderful, but it is not everything. We belong to one another, and so we need relationships with one another; and when they break down, then we are in trouble. Then we are really paralyzed. That is why the forgiving of sins is so important. Our wrongdoing brings hurt into human hearts, and guilt, and resentment, and hostility and bitterness. Justice seeks to restore order. Revenge only makes matters worse. Mercy is the healing balm that brings us back to life, and God is merciful. When Jesus speaks to the paralyzed man, He is telling him how much God loves him, how valued he is.
We are not in this world simply to make the most of what we have until our life ends. And physical ills are not the only evils in this world. Just as we strive to cure disease and to improve our medical ability, so too we are called to recognize spiritual and moral evil, and strive to become better human beings. Our personal and social life depends upon the values of truthfulness, justice, and merciful love. God has created us and God is the goal of our life journey. For many people that bright hope of life is tragically crushed by the brutality they experience at the hands of others. All the more reason, then, for Christian people to be examples of hope, and bringers of hope to others. Let us sit at the Lord’s feet today, in that house at Capernaum, and listen to His words. They are summed up in the Lord’s Prayer, and especially in the words “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.â€