As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church
Glory be to Jesus Christ!
No one would accuse me of being a specialist in Rock-n-Roll music. However, as I was meditating on this gospel, and reminded of the alternative rendering of it by St Mark [2:1-12], for some reason a song from the 1950s came to mind. I did a little research on-line to refresh my faulty memory. The first recording of this song was by Charlie Calhoun but in my father's large music collection the rendition I remember was by the Mills Brothers whose version came out just a month after Charlie's. By now you've probably guessed the song: Smack dab in the middle. My mother would say it's a happy song, the only kind she liked. It was about a guy fantasizing about fun places and circumstances where he would like to be, usually about good food, music, dancing, great clothes and cars! Does this sound like the 1950s? Maybe even like today?
Our paralytic in today's gospel is brought into Jesus' presence amidst a crowd of on-lookers. St. Mark has him lowered through the roof since they couldn't get through the crowd. And yes, he was put down "smack dab in the middle" of everyone where Jesus performed the miracle. Did the paralytic want to be there? The text doesn't tell us. But the fact that he had friends who carried him on his bed, probably a long distance, to meet Jesus, would tend to indicate that there was a lot of love and faith involved in getting him there, which Jesus recognized.
Since none of us are physically paralyzed, and most people reading or hearing this story are likely not paralyzed, one might ask, how does this relate to us?
Desire.
What do we desire out of life? Our Rock-n-Roller wanted a dance party and lots of money. Our paralytic doesn't speak, but the action taken by his friends seems to indicate that being healed of his paralysis was his strong desire, so he could move on with his life. We don't know "the rest of the story" [as Paul Harvey would say] for either one and I would say it doesn't matter. The song is just a song. But it does give a hint about the rocker's life. The fantasy evolves from staying awake and rockin' through a list of accumulating cars, clothes, food, and ultimately the doors of Fort Knox flung open for him. His fantasy follows a familiar pattern, each stanza outdoes the previous one. No matter what we have we want more. Nothing seems to satisfy. Nevertheless, his fantasy is out of reach and that may be why he is singing his song. After all, at the end of each stanza he ends up simply doing his dance and singing: "Let me rock and roll to satisfy my soul."
As with so many in our fractured world today, we search for what will "satisfy our souls." But we seldom find it.
Likewise, the point of the paralytic's story is not about how he lived out the rest of his life. That remains in his hands. What matters is that Jesus gave him the possibility to live life "more abundantly." And that opportunity flowed from his faith that Jesus could make that opening possible. So one prayer was answered, and one day-dream vanished like the mist.
We can always dream, and that's not bad, but where do we put our trust? The Gospel message is that we should put our trust in Jesus, who will be with us through the ups and downs of life. And knowing that can open vistas we never thought possible to see.
Christ is in our midst!
