We read in the gospel today how the Lord healed a paralytic man who was being carried on a stretcher by his friends. The conversation quickly turned to a different topic rather than the great miracle the sick man had received from Jesus.
In reading the Scriptures, especially the gospels, one of the major revelations we encounter is God’s miraculous nature.
God’s Miraculous Nature
Whenever Jesus shows up, there is a miracle. Each miracle has a different format, conveys a different lesson, and reveals a unique attribute of God, yet one common element underlies all of God’s miracles: Faith! It almost seems that Jesus is always searching for the presence of faith to perform miracles. It is important, however, to focus on the God of miracles rather than on the miracles of God.
In verse 5 of today’s Scripture passage, we read, “When Jesus saw their faith…” A visible faith is a miraculous faith. A hidden faith is a weakened faith. Visible faith acclaims the priority of God and proclaims that God is trustworthy and worthy of risking it all for Him. What makes the faith of these people visible is not a church building, a religious observance, a loudspeaker in the streets, their religious garb, or sophisticated theology, but rather a simple disposition and trust in Jesus. The way they carried their paralyzed friend on a stretcher suggests they know Jesus would help them.
Visible Faith
Jesus did help them. He healed the paralytic man. He began by healing the man’s spiritual well-being. He forgave the man his sins, healing his spiritual paralysis, and then healed his physical ailment.
I was touched by the statement, “When Jesus saw their faith…” It was the faith that Jesus saw that moved Him to action. A visible faith communicates several messages: openness to God, willingness to follow God, readiness to accept God’s demands, and abandonment to the divine will. When God sees such a disposition, He pours out the needed grace.
He Knows and Waits
I’m unsure whether the paralyzed man knew he had a spiritual ailment that was more serious than physical paralysis. But the Lord knows everything, and He waits for us to let Him into our lives (cf Rev 3:20). Christ has forgiven our sins. Jesus’ audience questioned his ability to forgive sins, insisting that only God has the power to do so. Anytime we look for solutions to our problems elsewhere, refuse to share our challenges with the Lord, or lose sight of the divine presence among us, we risk being in a position like that of the Scribes and Pharisees when they questioned Christ’s divinity.
While many people’s faith experiences do not seem as “successful” as the story in the gospels, Jesus remains the same (Hebrews 13:8); the gift of faith and its experience help us keep forging ahead, with or without results. The more steadfast we remain, the greater the possibility of walking in “visible faith.”
