October 19, 2025 - Lk 5:17-28

 As preached by Brother Christopher

Holy Wisdom Church

“And they were all astounded and praised God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen strange things today.” (Lk 5:26)

 

In this morning’s gospel, there is an interesting dynamic at play that’s worth reflecting on. It is the tension between “law” and “spirit”. Jesus is teaching to a packed house when suddenly a paralyzed man is let down on a bed from a hole in the roof and placed at Jesus’ feet. It’s a bold and astonishing thing to imagine, and the expression of faith by the friends that let the man down moves Jesus deeply. But what he does next is surprising, even shocking to the scribes and Pharisees in the crowd. Instead of focusing on the physical disability, Jesus addresses the deeper paralysis that afflicts the man: paralysis of the Spirit that no doubt had left him feeling alienated from God. Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven.” Now this freaks out the scribes and Pharisees, whose unspoken thoughts were pretty clear to Jesus: “Blasphemy! Who does he think he is? Only God can forgive sins. He’s broken the law.” However, while ostensibly standing up for religious orthodoxy, their protests include another less noble aspect: that sins can be forgiven only after visiting the religious authorities and completing a rite of purification, which also involved paying a fee. Jesus’ pronouncement is thus a threat to the authority and livelihood of the religious elite. Jesus manifests a different authority – one of the spirit – one with no connection to power or financial gain: the authority of God whose forgiveness cures the paralysis of the soul.

              But the story gets even better: Jesus sees right through the duplicity of the scribes, calling out their toxic, hidden thoughts. He then demonstrates his authority to speak for God by ordering the paralytic to pick up his bed and walk... and so the man does – leaving everyone astonished. Who has ever seen anything like this? But what is even more astonishing is that after having seen such a miracle, no one in the crowd decides to become a disciple, at least as Luke reports it. They seem to be frozen in their astonishment, not realizing the implications of what they’ve seen. All they can say is, “We have seen strange things today.”  Interestingly, at the end of the passage, it is only Levi the tax collector – who wasn’t even at the miracle – who falls under the gaze and the word of Jesus. He is the one who shows us what is of real importance: following Jesus. He hears Jesus’ call and in one definitive moment, leaves behind his addiction to money. Perhaps it’s another healing of paralysis of a different sort.

              All of this is happening early on in Luke’s gospel and it sets the stage for the gradual unfolding of Jesus’ destiny. His mighty works attract significant attention but they are accompanied by a radical call to change, one that rattles the authorities. And even here in this morning’s passage we get a subtle premonition of what is in store for Jesus. While the charge of blasphemy by the scribes foreshadows Jesus’ death, the raising of the paralytic foreshadows his resurrection. Which leaves each of us with a question: do we stay on the level of the crowd’s astonishment, almost entertained by the tales of Jesus’ mighty works, or do we embrace the more challenging commitment of being a disciple, one who is open to fresh movement of the spirit? That can only be answered by each of us repeatedly in the depths of our heart.