Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany
Isaiah 43:18-25
Psalm 32
2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Mark 2:1-12
This is a curious Gospel lesson. First, Jesus makes a connection between sin and illness. Second, the scribes from the temple elite collect evidence from this incident which later may have been used at his trial.
First let us look at the connection between sin and illness. You remember the story of how four friends bring the paralyzed man on his litter and being unable to force their way through the throng to Jesus they go around the back of the house, climb the steps to the roof and somehow force through the roof to let the man down near Jesus. When Jesus saw the faith of the friends he said to the sick man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” There are several questions surrounding this including the one of Jesus’ right and ability to forgive sins. In Matthew’s account of this story, Matthew notes that God has given Jesus the authority to forgive sins and to make the healing. Another question is whether or not we have the authority to do likewise. But the question I want to focus on here is that of the connection between sin and illness. Does this mean that Jesus believed that the man was ill because of his sinfulness? The New Testament makes a connection. How do we understand that connection? That is the problem.
Second, the scribes, who are themselves devout Jews, tend to be critical of the man who forgives sins and then heals without proper authority. If he had been certified by their high priest, they probably would have been open to his behavior, his activity, and his good works. But Jesus was not certified by the religious institution, therefore he was a threat.
These two questions, problems, if you will, lie at the heart of our Gospel selection for the day. What is the natural response to them? Well, the first response to this business of the connection between sin and illness is probably outrage. That anyone dare suggest that people get sick because of the way they live their lives would be discounted at the outset. Think of it yourself. If you contract the flu do you want people thinking, “I wonder what Jack did to deserve that?” But of course the flu is pretty minor. How about heart disease or multiple-sclerosis or cancer, Lou Gehrig’s disease, or the death of a baby, something really serious? We would not be happy. But Jesus first forgives the man his sins.
And that brings us to the second question. If there were a congregation in Kansas City where people were being prayed for and being healed and hundreds of folks from the area were crowding into the services to see what was happening and perhaps to be prayed for themselves. Suppose there were lots of Episcopalians among them, we Episcopalians might be threatened, even critical of such matters. Well, perhaps, we could agree that to be critical is not a strange response; it is a very natural one.
These then are the problems in our text and the way the world might look at them. What is there for us in this lesson from Scripture and experience?
That misfortune, illness, and death are related to sin is always assumed in Holy Scripture. That is very uncomfortable for modern people. Even Jesus’ death is connected to sin—someone else’s, actually yours and mine. But I would suggest, apart from environmental and behavioral impacts on our health, that it may not be so far-fetched to see sin at the bottom of much of our own illness. Let me tell you a story.
Three years ago there was a woman in my parish, a cradle Episcopalian, who had once been very active and involved in the Church. Through the years she had continued to sing in the choir and be an altar guild member, but beyond that she had pulled way back. In her own words, she was simply no longer drawn to faith. But during 1999 that began to change and she began to move back into an ongoing search for God in her life. Finally, she came to me needing some expression for it and asked if she could be a lector, and assist in the liturgies as a reader of scripture. I agreed. She obtained the training required and became quite involved. I suggested also that she begin to attend a 7:00 A.M. Eucharist held each week on Thursday and she grudgingly assented to try. She came and continued to come for weeks. Subsequently, she approached me in the sacristy and asking for a moment told me this story. She had a serious case of arthritis, very painful. For years she had taken pain medication regularly and had required each evening such medicine along with a sleeping pill to be able to sleep. Since for three months or so she had been coming to the Thursday morning Eucharist with the laying on of hands for healing, the pain had begun to subside until by that time she was no longer taking the medication or a sleeping pill to sleep. There are, of course, a number of possible explanations, but her own was that it was related to attending that Eucharist and beginning to seek God once again... What it suggests to me is that when lives are turned toward God, there is less likelihood for illness to take root and to flourish. And since illness is a process and often comes upon us over time, so healing is a process and flourishes likewise over time. In God there is no evil, no sin, no illness, no dysfunction, and as we turn more and more toward God in Christ, so the sin, the illness, and the dysfunction are less likely to thrive. In our Gospel Jesus could forgive the sin and then turn around and make clear that health was not far behind.
You remember the parable of the sower. Some seed was sown on the path, some on rocky ground; other seed fell among the thorns and finally some on good soil. Mark interprets this parable by suggesting that the seeds that were sown among the thorns are the ones, who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. That’s us. What are we most concerned about today? It seems to me that we are most concerned about war, the economy, protection from terrorists, and shopping. The clergy and their spouses went on retreat this past week and the chief spoken interest was the outlet mall. Lest you think I am being critical, Mary Jane and I also went shopping. How often it is that the cares of the world, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things that keep us from making a whole-souled response to the love of God? No wonder many of us turn ill. This is the connection I suggest we understand between sickness and sin. Not punishment, but choice. Mark my words. I am not suggesting that God punishes us for our sins. Rather we choose that which is not good for us and we live with the consequences. We are always accountable.
Salvation, forgiveness and healing are all part of the same process, the same divine act. They are matters of choice and grace. God’s healing comes as prevenient grace. “God’s power is always available to heal and to save and he wishes to exercise it, and faith is the means whereby the individual or the group lays hold of it.” Here in this story, the sick man’s own faith and the faith and action of his friends makes the difference. That is the promise the Gospel.
What then of the criticism of the scribes? I suggest that criticism is that of those of us who get drawn into the institution and forget the radical nature of God’s acts of love. On January 29th, 2000, two American priests, John Rodgers and Chuck Murphy were invited to Singapore, and there were consecrated missionary bishops to the United States. Whatever their intention, and clearly this was a move on the part of some of the bishops of the Anglican Communion to hold the Episcopal Church accountable for its actions theologically and politically, it placed the Church in an uncomfortable position. These consecrations were irregular and perhaps irresponsible, as have been a number of ordinations in this church in the past few years. But without question, these two men are now bishops in the Church, as is recognized by the bishops of their previous dioceses. What should our response as Christians and Anglicans be to these unauthorized consecrations? My application relates to the Gospel lesson. Do we respond as did the scribes sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy!” No, it is not blasphemy. It is simply not certified by the authority they recognized. Or do we open our hearts and minds to see what God will do? I remind you of the sentiments of Gamaliel toward Jesus’ disciples in Acts 5. “In the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origins, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!” Even for the faithful, and I count the scribes among those, it is so easy to make the critical response, the judgmental response and so difficult to trust God in all things.
So in this lesson we have both faith leading to healing and the collection of evidence leading to judgment. In all matters we are accountable. Last night Mary Jane and I were at the symphony pops concert. Ben Vereen entertained wonderfully for a long time, and at the end of his program he turned to the war. First, it seemed that he was against the war and then it seemed that he wanted everyone to be united. In the end, while he wanted peace he wanted us to be together more, whatever that meant. That is not the way God is. Paul said it well in the epistle for today. “Do I make my plans according to ordinary human standards, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, No” at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been “Yes and No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you … was not “Yes and No”, but in him it is always “Yes.” For in Jesus every one of God’s promises is a “Yes.” That is true for each of you. Every one of God’s promises is a “Yes.” Let our relationship toward God be likewise. It is my prayer that our faith will be a consistent “Yes” toward God and that when others see our faith, when others see our action, when others see our lives, they too will glorify God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” So be it.