As preached by Sister Cecelia
Holy Wisdom Chapel
The gospel this morning is such a good example of the scribes’ and Pharisee’s misunderstanding of the law. If Jesus had reversed the order of his words when he healed the paralyzed man, would the scribes and Pharisees have been as horrified? If he had healed the man and told him to take up his bed and go home, and then indicated his sins were forgiven, perhaps they would not have been scandalized? Perhaps. Most people in those days, and unfortunately even today, did believe that illness was a result of sinning, so if the man was healed it is obvious his sins were forgiven.
It is the faith of the men carrying the stretcher, that prompted Jesus to heal the paralytic. Perhaps Jesus knew the paralyzed man considered his own sins to be the cause of his illness, and so Jesus had to put to rest whatever might prevent the man from being healed. The paralyzed man was truly transformed by his healing. He went on his way glorifying God. So did many others who witnessed the event. Only those whose ego needs control and order did not give glory to God for Jesus’ compassionate act.
In the early days of Christianity, the person who chose Christianity chose to face trouble. There was most often abandonment from friends and family, hostility, and persecution from neighbors and the official powers of government. In our country today, the challenges we face are not always so obvious. The comfort that St. Paul talked about in this morning’s epistle, though, is just as available for any of our afflictions as it was for St. Paul and his Corinthians. The physical and mental stresses we endure can sometimes feel like the weights that were used to crush the life out of people being punished in times gone by. How to live and be Christians can be stressful when we are faced with so many possible responses. St. Paul said much about the observances of keeping the Hebrew laws that had grown out of the original Ten Commandments given to Moses for his people. Basically, Paul said from his studies of the meaning, purpose, and limitations of the law that the law’s function was just to get us started. Instead, too often, the law just takes over. Paul himself had been an enthusiastic perfect law-abiding Pharisee before Jesus spoke to him. Later, Paul must have wondered how keeping the law so perfectly could create such hateful and violent people as himself—as the person he had been before his conversion.
So, what are the laws of our religion really for? Surely, they are not to make God love us. God already does love us. For almost anyone involved in religion, the relationship between the grace of the Holy Spirit and the laws is a central issue. The tension is between the religion as requirement—that is, the dos and don’ts of any religion—and the religion of transformation, understanding what God wants of us. The grace of God must win. Laws can only give us information. They cannot give us transformation into love and mercy. Law often frustrates the process of transformation by becoming an end in itself.
Are there spiritual laws connected with this transformative process different from religious requirements, or laws of the church? To be able to follow the ethical ideals of Jesus, it seems some level of inner experience with God is necessary. It does not seem possible for us to obey any spiritual law regarding issues like forgiveness of enemies, self-emptying, humble use of power, or treating others as we would like to be treated, except in and through our union with God. It is the Holy Spirit within, enabling us to obey any law or to know its true purpose. Today, with the help of God’s grace, let us open our hearts to this understanding and the strength to carry out our purpose in life. And like Levi-Matthew, let us follow Jesus.
Christ is in our midst!
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