Today’s Scripture Reading (August 14,
2014): Mark 2
A couple of
days ago the world found out about the untimely death of Robin Williams. We
echo the words of Henry Winkler as he speaks of the dramatic genius of the man,
often forgetting or not even being aware of the tormented soul of the man. We
have heard of his multiple battles with substance abuse and his battle with
depression, but what is foremost in our memory is the Robin Williams that we
watched on the stage and on the screen – both big and small. In “Good Will
Hunting,” Williams character talks about our imperfections, what he called our peccadilloes
or small sins, as being the really interesting thing about us all. We aren’t
perfect, and that is what makes us special. But it is also our peccadilloes
that have a habit of tormenting us in those moments when we are alone – often binging
us to the point where life no longer seems to be worth living.
Four men bring
their friend to Jesus. The problem is obvious; their friend can’t walk. It
would be impossible for their friend to bring himself to Jesus, he is at the
mercy of those who are willing to carry him. And so the friends carry him to
Jesus. But when they arrive at the place where the healer is staying, they can’t
even get close to the door. There is no way that they would ever get close to
Jesus. Yet, the friends were sure that Jesus is the answer to what their friend
needs – Jesus is the answer to the question of healing. And since they can’t
bring their friend to Jesus through the door, they decide to climb up to the
roof and then dig through the roof so that they could finally lay their friend
before Jesus.
And there
were a lot of ways that Jesus could have responded to the men. It was not the
fault of the one who needed the healing. None of this could have been
accomplished by the friend – it was the four men that bore close scrutiny.
Jesus could have chastised the men for their wanton destruction of property. He
could have extolled them on the merits of patience and waiting their turn. But
he chose to react in neither of these ways – he decided to point at the faith
of the four men. Again, it is not the faith of the one who needed healing, but
of his friends. But in the eyes of Jesus, the faith of the friends could be
applied to the one who needed the healing.
But there
was something else going on in this story. Jesus saw something beyond the
obvious. Oh, the man needed to be healed so that he could walk, but that was
not the most important thing this man needed. He need to be forgiven of his
sins, his peccadilloes that were tearing him apart and causing him more pain
than all of his physical limitations put together. And so Jesus spoke the words
the man needed to hear – your sins are forgiven. Those things that have been
tearing you apart in the middle of the night, those triggers for your depression,
the peccadilloes which have caused you so much shame, all of that is forgiven.
I was
recently challenged that in the protestant church, the words that we so badly
need to hear are exactly the ones that we never speak – your sins are forgiven,
you are absolved of all of the wrongs that you have committed in your life.
Inside the Roman Catholic Church, these words are spoken in the confessional,
but for those of us who never enter into confession never hear the words. So
they continue to attack in our most vulnerable moments.
So let me
say the words – You are forgiven. Everything that you have confessed to your God
you have also been forgiven for. Everything. And the next time the peccadilloes
attack, remember that you are absolved before God. They no longer have any
power over you.
And Rest in
Peace to the genius and the tormented man that was Robin Williams. What Robin
may not have realized is that all of our lives were enriched because he lived -
and he will be greatly missed.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: John 5
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