DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Saint Luke 5:17-26
(10/1-10/14)
Saturday of the Nineteenth Week after Pentecost
The God Who Is Forgiving: Saint Luke 5:17-26, especially
vs. 24: “But that you may
know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins -- [Jesus] said to the man who was paralyzed,
‘I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your
house.’” Christ
calls us to obey Him and thus glorify God (Mt. 5:14,16). Do not to temporize with His words! Rather, struggle to heed Him before a
world that watches to see if and how we obey. Moreover, ‘The Day’ is
coming when everyone shall account to God for his words and deeds (Lk.
13:25-27), a day of darkness in which all of us shall be ‘tried with
fire’ (1 Cor. 3:13). Were it
not for the forgiveness of God, which today’s reading reveals in its full
beauty, our sins would be cause for total despair.
Rejoice! In
today’s Gospel the Lord shows us that we too, like the paralytic, may go
home “...glorifying God” (Lk. 5:25). Of course, He calls us to consider the
reality of our sins, to see them as paralyzing evidence of the universal human
spiritual sickness residing in the depths of our being. Still, He does disclose what we can do
about this deadly malady that infects us.
Note: a paralyzed man was brought to the Lord Jesus on a
litter by his friends so that He might heal him. Attention, first, is directed to the
man’s need for physical healing and to the efforts of his friends -
climbing up on a roof, tearing off tiles and fixing ropes to his litter, and
lowering the poor man down to Jesus’ feet. Next, notice our Lord’s first
words: “Man, your sins are forgiven you” (vs. 20). Great effort was made to reach this
famous Teacher, Source of healing.
Yet strangely, the Healer speaks of forgiving sins and does not mention
the paralysis.
Above all, consider the implication of the Lord addressing
sins before everything else. Being
Chief of physicians, Christ our God addresses the core human problem. He bypasses the external symptom, the
physical immobility; for He desires that we see that our primary need is to be
cured of sin, to be forgiven, to have God put our sins away and cover them.
Orthodoxy, Beloved of God, reinforces our Savior’s
point: our sins are symptoms of the foremost human sickness, the universal
malady that traces through our entire race, manifesting itself in all of us in
many ways. We are all paralyzed
before God and desperately in need of His forgiveness. But wait: we received the Christian
Mystery. God illumined us to know
that we are sick with sin, that we need to be cured, and that it is urgent to
seek His forgiveness.
Consider again the efforts of the man’s friends. Their actions constitute solid evidence
of faith. The men were determined
to bring their friend before the Lord Jesus. They applied that which God gives to all
of us - hearts to love, minds to think, and strength to act. Sin is opposed to faith. Sin gives up. Faith acts. Sin is inaction, bitterness, and
death. Learn from these energetic
men that Christ is present now to heal (vs. 17). “Rich men have turned poor and
gone hungry; but they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good
thing” (Ps. 33:10).
Above all, acknowledge frankly that the Pharisees - though
they opposed the Lord - were technically correct: only God can forgive
sins. Why? - because sins are basic
usurpations of God’s very own prerogatives. The Lord did not deny the
Pharisees’ theological assertion.
Rather He took the occasion to reveal Himself as ‘God with
us.’ Hyper-religious critics,
with the eyes of their hearts darkened, cannot see God Incarnate - as a man in
the flesh before their eyes. Hence,
the Pharisees were offended at what they took to be a man usurping God’s
‘authority.’
Sins are acts and ‘thoughts’ that are wrong -
that oppose God’s will.
Indeed, our sins are aimed against God Himself (Ps. 50:4), yet He still
says, “...although your sins are...as scarlet, I shall make them white
like wool” (Is. 1:18). Repent
and discover the glory of God!
“Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse
me from my sin.”(Ps. 50:2)
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