When He Saw Their Faithfulness (Faithfulness 2)

A story of communal faithfulness. But to what?

(A quick reminder to read the linked Galatians passage. I’ll share it every day during this series, but don’t neglect it. It sets the stage for the gospel passage. Also, I look forward to sharing another song with you tomorrow.)

As I’ve continued to dig into faithfulness, I’ve realized even more that we could spend a whole month reading gospel stories and teachings about it (pistis). Remember, in the New Testament, faith and faithfulness are the same thing. Belief and fidelity.

The word is used a lot in the gospels. But just as much, it is demonstrated. Indeed, we could spend far more than a month on it. The goal is actually to spend a lifetime in faithfulness and the gospels have no shortage.

Nonetheless, the story in front of us today is the one in which some friends, in concern for their friend who was paralyzed, tore a hole in the roof to lower him to Jesus. It really is quite a scene to imagine. In Luke’s account, more words are spent on pointing out the whims of the Pharisees than the friends and the individual himself, but let’s focus there today.

We’ve noted before the central element of forgiveness here that somewhat shatters many of our - particularly evangelical - paradigms of salvation. Two quick things - 1. Jesus heals the man based on his friends’ faith-full actions (not the man’s!). 2. Jesus does so by forgiving his sins. (That’s not, we presume, why they brought him. Forgiveness for sin?).

But let’s move on to the main point for today - the faithfulness of his friends. Luke tells us that when Jesus saw their faithfulness, he acted. Just what was their faithfulness? To their friend, right? But was it faithfulness to Jesus? Indeed, they had taken significant effort to get to Jesus, so they certainly believed that Jesus could do something about their friend’s condition.

But then there’s this not-so-insignificant element of their faithfulness to their friend. It’s concern - for his condition. It’s love - for his being. It’s hope - that his situation might be changed for the better. And it’s persistence - shown by taking time and effort to get the man before Jesus, who just might be able to do something about it.

So it’s not just a bunch of people sitting in their home declaring a name - JESUS! - and believing something will happen. No, in this instance, their faithfulness is demonstrated by action. Their actions are the fruit of their belief.

And in this combination of belief and action - that Jesus can do something for their friend, we see what faithfulness looks like. Here, faithfulness is not the paralytic’s private conviction. It is the community’s stubborn fidelity to get him to Jesus when he couldn’t get there himself.

Sometimes Christ heals us because someone else believed on our behalf. Sometimes we get carried by other people’s faithfulness when ours is thin. This is what the Spirit desires to form in the Church - persistent, embodied fidelity to Jesus together.

Speaking of the Spirit, note at the beginning of the story, Luke says something interesting - …the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal. Faithfulness is never just our effort. It is the Spirit’s presence turning ordinary acts of love into the work of God.

Galatians 5:13-26

Luke 5:17-20

One day when Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and legal experts were sitting nearby. They had come from every village in Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem. Now the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal. Some men were bringing a man who was paralyzed, lying on a cot. They wanted to carry him in and place him before Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they took him up on the roof and lowered him—cot and all—through the roof tiles into the crowded room in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

Prayer

God,

Holy Father of all creation, I see your loving justice in Jesus of Nazareth. By your Spirit, make us more like him.

Thank you for those who carried me to you when my own faith was thin. Teach your Church to be that kind of community: persistent, creative, and courageous in love. Let our faithfulness be seen in action, in the ordinary choices to show up, to help, to hope again. Give us eyes to notice those who cannot get to you on their own, and hearts that do not grow weary in lifting one another into your presence.

Make our fidelity stubborn and gentle, cruciform and joyful, rooted not in results for their sake, but in trust that you can do what we cannot. Holy Spirit, give us the imagination to tear open roofs when doors are blocked.

Give us the humility to be carried when we need help. Let our shared faithfulness become a sign of your healing and forgiveness in the world.

By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.