Contemplative Bible Reading

Luke 5:20 (New Living Translation)

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

This is part of the (hi)story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man. Jesus was in a home. The crowds of people wanting to hear Jesus were big and thick and … crowded. There was a paralyzed man on a mat. Friends of the paralyzed man cut a hole in the roof of the home and lowered the man down to Jesus to be healed.

Jesus saw the faith of the paralyzed man and also the faith of his friends. Let’s note the friends:

• They carried the paralyzed man all the way from where he stayed to where Jesus was talking. Quite an effort.
• They tried to push through the crowds in vain. Quite an effort.
• They carried the man up to the roof of the home. Quite an effort.
• They dug a big hole through the roof of the home. Yes, quite an effort.
• They gently lowered the main down through the hole in the roof to Jesus. Again, quite an effort.

These friends worked very hard so that their friend would be in front of Jesus. You don’t work that hard for nothing. You do it only if you believe in miracles—only if you believe in Jesus’ power to save.

There are many thoughts I can write after noting this faith. One concerns “going to church.” Many are criticized as “pew sitters,” i.e., people who come to church on Sunday but never do anything else. Hey, there are many places to be on a Sunday morning. Choosing to be in a church building is not high on the list of many people. Those who “show up” on Sunday are like the friends in the story: they believe in Jesus’ power to save. Otherwise, they would be somewhere else.

Yes, we can criticize folks for “just coming to church” and all that. Still, let’s recognize faith in Jesus when we see it. Let’s commend folks for having that faith. We can do better.