Hebrews 1:10-2:3
Mark 2:1-12
Think for a moment how you would feel if you went to the
doctor with a serious health problem and were simply told medical facts about
your
condition and that you were an interesting case. You would probably not be happy at all because
you go to a physician to be healed, not simply to learn truths that in and of
themselves do not restore you to health.
On this second Sunday of Great Lent,
we remember a great saint who knew that our salvation is not in mere ideas
about God, but in true participation in His life by grace. St. Gregory Palamas lived in the 14th
century in the Byzantine Empire. A
monastic, a bishop, and a scholar, he defended the experience of hesychast monks
who in the stillness of deep prayer beheld the divine light of the uncreated energies
of God. In ways that go beyond rational
understanding, they saw the divine glory as they participated in the life of
God by grace.
Against those rationalists who said
that such a thing was impossible, St. Gregory insisted that we know the Lord by
being united with Him in prayer and holiness.
Jesus Christ has joined humanity and divinity and dwells in our hearts
by the power of the Holy Spirit. We truly
become partakers of the divine nature when we know by experience the presence of
God in our lives.
That is precisely what happened to
the paralyzed man in today’s gospel lesson.
The Lord did not simply convey ideas to Him, but instead shared His
divine energies by restoring him to health, both spiritually and
physically. At the root of all human
corruption is our sin, which weakens and sickens us all, and the Savior showed
His divinity by forgiving the man’s sins.
Christ then enabled the man to rise up and walk as evidence that He has
the authority to forgive sins as the Son of God.
This healing also shows what it
means to be infused with the gracious divine energies, for the paralyzed man
experienced freedom from bondage and a miraculous transformation of every
dimension of his life. He did not simply
hear words or receive a diagnosis, for the Lord healed him inwardly and
outwardly.
This miracle speaks to us all, of
course, because we are sinners paralyzed by our own actions and those of
others. We have made ourselves so sick
and weak that we do not have the strength to eradicate the presence of evil in
our lives. Just think for a moment of
how easily we fall into words, thoughts, and deeds that we know are not
holy. Our habitual sins have become
second nature to us; left to our own resources we are no more able to make them
go away than a paralyzed man is to get up and walk.
The good news is that Jesus Christ
comes to every single one of us with forgiveness and healing. Too often, we are willing only to ask for
forgiveness, but not to rise, take up our beds, and walk. In other words, we fail to see that being
infused with the gracious divine energies is not a matter of simply being
excused from paying a penalty or declared not guilty; instead, it is truly a
calling to become who we are created to be in God’s image and likeness. It is to be healed from all the ravages of
sin and to shine with the light of holiness as we participate by grace in the
life of the Holy Trinity.
No, we do not have to become monks
and nuns in order to do that. But we do
need to do everything that we can to open ourselves to the healing energies of
God. When we pray, fast, give to the
needy, and practice forgiveness and reconciliation, or any other act of truth
faithfulness or repentance, we do so in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, alive
and active in us. Even the smallest
bits of “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control” that we experience are the fruits of the Spirit’s
presence. (Gal. 5:22) We should cherish them as such and do what we
can to help them grow and become characteristic of our lives and
personalities.
The truth is that if we want to know
Christ’s healing and strength, we have to obey His commandments, for He calls
us all to get up and move forward in a holy life. In order to do that, we have to welcome and
cooperate with our Lord’s mercy. Think
again of going to the doctor yourself.
We’re glad to hear that there’s a cure for our ailments, but that
knowledge will do us no good unless we participate in the treatment. We have to take our medicine and do our
therapy if we want to benefit personally.
How sad it would have been for the
formerly paralyzed man to have disobeyed the Lord’s command and simply stayed
in bed. How sad that we so often do
precisely that in our refusal to cooperate with Christ’s healing and mercy by
obeying Him. As we continue our Lenten
journey, let’s remember that in every aspect of the Christian life we experience
the gracious divine energies of the Lord.
The Son of God has joined Himself to every dimension of our human
existence and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts. We do not have mere signs and symbols of
salvation, but God Himself. The only
limits to His presence, power, and healing in our lives are those that we keep
in place. This Lent, let’s leave our sick
beds behind and do all that we can to participate more fully in the healing
mercy that the Savior brings to each and every one of us. That’s the best way to prepare to behold the glory
of His resurrection.
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