"One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralysed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus." Luke 5 17-19.
I have to start by being pedantic, sorry. It's the "they". What they ? If you just take the paragraph as it stands from v 17, it makes no sense. It can't refer to the Pharisees because they hadn't come from every village. But there isn't anything else in the paragraph it can refer to. Unless that is you take away the title "Jesus forgives and heals a paralysed man". Then it becomes obvious it's refering to the crowds. Nothing serious lost this time. I like the chapter and verse numbers and the useful titles put there to help us find our way around, but just sometimes I feel they can be an obstacle to twigging what the writer wanted to say. Like all sorts of other wonderful human elements in life that are mostly very helpful but can sometimes get in the way, like meetings and notices and flower arrangements and Sunday School lessons and car parking arrangements and budgets and ...
That isn't what really touched me about this passage, though the temptation to feel pleased with myself at my little pedantry is not inconsiderable.
What I really like about this incident is the men. Yes, you read me right! The actions of this gang of mates sums up for me what I find the most attractive in a group of blokes, or girls for that matter.
It's not just that I would always rather be where the action is, although honesty says that that is part of it. I'd rather have home made than cordon bleu if I can join in with making it, even if it's only with my hands in the sink. I like action, the sensation of doing something, fixing something, helping out, lending a hand. Is that less spiritual because it's very human too ? Good works.
I also like team. I like where the fun and safety of a climbing group depends on everyone playing their part and looking out for each other. Someone who only turns up at the end to have a pint in the pub, who sits smelling of roses while muddy boots are shed and aching muscles kneaded, has missed it. Mucking in, rallying round. What I like best in the whole wide world is human beings. Fellow-ship. Love.
But there's another element to this that I'm very drawn to - they stir each other up to act. One of them had a bright idea and the others didn't talk him down with common sense.
Obviously it isn't fool hardy bravado. They know how rooves work. There are steps up the side of the house to get up there so they're never putting their friend at risk. They have adequate muscle. They would certainly check man's sleeping mat isn't gone weak with rot and drop him on the floor (which I'm certain they did before they set off, I'm concerned about these things).
I think the great risk is probably of getting into trouble with the rich host who could be the main employer in the area; or with the local religious leaders who, humiliated in front of their national superiors, could make sure no one ever again shops at their market stall or marries their daughters.
No one would blame them if they'd done the crowd thing, the sensible thing. No one has lost face. They could say to themselves or to the relative who asked them to bring him, "Well, we tried. You should have seen the crowds, and wouldn't you know it, it was the day the inquisition turned up too." They'd have been absolutely right.
But somehow they breed in each other something that goes beyond that. This is when faith stirs up faith. They trust each other as well as God. They just get on with it. Together. It happens.
Stir one another up to love and good works" Heb 10.
Or spur on. Could we read egg on ? Certainly encourage comes into it. As does inspire. It sounds to me like more than a simple comfy mutual fur stroking enterprise however you read it, (though I am also partial to a little reciprocal reassuring, a little smiley at the right time can go a long way, I think that comes into the category of cheering on lol)
Stirring up, stirring on to love and good works. Stirring stops the gravy going lumpy or burning on the bottom. It makes us unable to sit back in the status quo and stops us allowing what we've begun to spoil because we'd allowed it to settle.
Could it even be something that appears counter intuitive too, for example reminding each other that if some of us busy bees don't get adequate sabbath rest we risk to let the quality of all we're at be ruined because we take on more and loose our ability to adequately give love or do good works ?
So, hang on in there dear friends, let us not give up, what ever it is God's reminding us about today ❤
PS Little side track thoughts - can we receive as well as give, allowing ourselves to be lowered through the roof without having to wriggle and wrestle, clinging on to the sides? How are we at tolerating getting our precious bedding mat full of dust and rubble without shouting at everyone ? And how do we cope with that 'chance would be a fine thing' misery of being amongst the crowd down below without the support group who will take those sorts of initiatives? Or maybe that's interpreting more into the situation than is merited by the text lol.
PS What mutual exhortation have we got growing in our let-us patch ? To satisfy my curiosity I did a cursory word check on the phrase "let us", looking at how the letter writers used it :
Romans 13: 12 ... let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime ... 14: 19 ... let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.15 : 2 Let each of us please his neighbor ...
2 Corinthians 7: let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit ...
Galatians 5 : 25 ... let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 6: 9 let us not grow weary of doing good ... as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone.
Philippians 3: 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
1 Thessalonians 5: 8 ... let us be sober
Hebrews 4: 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest ... 4:14 ... let us hold fast our confession. 6: 1 ... let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ 10: 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith... Let us hold fast the confession of our hope ... And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works... 12:1...let us also lay aside every weight and sin ... and let us run with endurance ... 12: 28 ... let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship ... 13:15 ... let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God,
1John 3:18 ... let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God ...
Revelation 19:7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory ...
Excellent!!
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