This is the sermon I gave this past Sunday on Mark's story about Jesus and the paralytic.

"When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, "Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up and take your mat and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he said to the paralytic-- "I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home." And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"" (Mark 2:1-12 NRSV).

The story of Jesus healing the paralytic is a rich narrative with many layers to it. I want to focus on how it describes established institutions, represented by the grumbling scribes, come under attack through Jesus' actions that proclaim a new moment, a new time and new way of being the people of God. The unexpected intrusion of a paralyzed person being lowered through a roof that had been dug up is a perfect image for the great lengths God goes to, to get outsiders into our churches. Jesus challenged these institutions at the points where they became roadblocks and invited people into a new work of God.

"When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them" (Mark 2:1-2).

Jesus: Celebrity in Capernaum

Mark tells us that Jesus just arrived home in Capernaum [Ka-Per-Knee-Umm]. Capernaum was a village with some 1500 residents, who typically lived in small individual quarters that housed large families (Green DJG 1992, 39). These homes were only one story and had a flat roof, accessible by a staircase on the outside of the home. Because of the tight quarters, the roofs were used for work as well as sleep. They were thatched with rush, held together by mud, and wood beams or branches made the structural part of the roof (France 123). This is why, in our story, the protagonists literally had to "dig up" the roof.

Mark doesn't tell us whether this is Jesus' actual house or someone else's, but in either case he has obviously become a local celebrity. The word that he was home got out, and people crammed into small quarters to hear Jesus "teach the word" to them (which probably means he was teaching what became known as "the Christian Message"). People were obviously interested in what was going on because even the front door was blocked.

There is something noteworthy about the particular word Mark uses for "crowd" (in verse 3). Originally, it meant something like a, "confused majority, or ordinary soldiers in a combat unit but who are not officers." It also refers to non-combat people who follow the army and perform menial duties (Luke 2 and John -- carry 2 miles). One commentator says, these were the "people of the land" who are differentiated from those in the ruling class. Rabbis taught that Jews should not share meals or travel with this group. Therefore it is unique to see both these groups represented at this gathering with Jesus.

It is in this setting that we see the birth pangs of Jesus' new moment clash with the institutions and establishments of the old. Jesus was up to something new that these old wine skins couldn't (it's probably a good thing he didn't call them that).

NT Wright says: "The main issue between Jesus and his Jewish contemporaries was his claim that the "moment" had come, that their god was even now inaugurating his kingdom, and that this - this praxis, these stories, this person - was the mode and means of its inauguration" (NT Wright, 383).

In his interaction with the paralytic Jesus showed what this new moment looked like. The kind of kingdom he announced was one that was centered on hospitality and healing of the outsider.

"Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay"