It is Not About the Magic

The Gospel reading today (MT9:1-8) tells a story that must have brought Jesus sadness, and yet it is a reading of great hope for us. 

Jesus went to His own town. He went home. He saw the people’s faith, and he tried to respond in a way that would bring them to a new level of understanding. His response failed to give them what they wanted. Instead of greater faith, He was questioned, doubted, and accused of blasphemy by the people. 

The people of Jesus’ hometown brought a paralytic to Jesus, looking for a cure. No doubt they had heard of the amazing things he had done in other places. When he arrives, they came, not so much because they believe He is from God, but because they want him to perform a healing. They want the magic they have heard He has done in other places.

Jesus knows this and tries to bring them to a different level of faith. He tries to show them that He isn’t just a magician or a healer, he is from God. So instead of doing the healing, he says,” Your sins are forgiven.” That isn’t what they wanted or expected. They wanted magic. They became disgruntled and accusatory. Jesus relents and gives them the healing they ask for; the paralytic is cured.

This reading made me question my motives and left me doing some soul searching. These are the questions I asked myself today in prayer. 

• What am I looking for from God?

• Do I pray wanting God to “fix” my life and whatever is wrong with it? 

• Do I ask God to cure and heal without first realizing that my faith cannot be contingent on His response? 

• Do I realize that forgiveness of sins is the greatest miracle of all? 

I wonder how many times I come before God paralyzed by either my sinfulness or angered by how I believe I have been sinned against? I know He has forgiven my sin, freed me from my pain, removed my paralysis, and sent me on my way, every time. 

The hope in this reading is the realization that Jesus has given us all the power to forgive sins. We are all hurt, insulted, and sinned against by one another either intentionally or by disregard. God has given us the ability to forgive those who sin against us. He has given us the authority to say to another, “Your sin against me is forgiven. Go and be at peace.” Our forgiveness of one another has power. It has the power of the mercy of God. Jesus gave us that power.

Today let’s pray that we will use the power we have been given by Jesus to make peace wherever there is brokenness in our lives. Forgiveness is not for the faint of heart. It takes great courage and humility to forgive. Perhaps, if each of us can heal the brokenness in our lives, we will be one step closer to improving the brokenness in our world. 

May God free us from whatever holds us back. May he free us from the paralysis in our lives. May He give us the courage to grant forgiveness and to allow ourselves to be forgiven.

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen