A Time to Carry, A Time to Be Carried

“...and after having dug through the roof, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.”

Mark 2:1-12 Ecclesiastes 3:1-4         Rev. Todd B. Freeman

Bethany Presbyterian Church, Dallas           February 19, 2006

Some of you are familiar with a spiritual exercise called lectio divina? The words are latin and literally mean, divine reading. Lectio is also at the root of the word lectionary, which we use to describe the weekly assigned scripture readings. Lectio divina is a slow, contemplative way to read and pray any particular passage of scripture. Modern author on Christian spirituality, Tilden Edwards, describes it this way: “The intent is not to get to the end of the passage but to the bottom of it in God, to the word through which God touches you now, the word that becomes an icon for you.”

I have used this spirituality technique every year at our Session Retreat, and occasionally at our Congregational Retreat. One of the passages that I often choose is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, part of which is today’s Old Testament Lesson.

The process of lectio divina begins with quieting and centering oneself, followed by a slow reading and re-reading the scripture passage. The purpose is to see what word or phrase draws your attention, then reflecting upon why that may be. Perhaps it is something that you are dealing with, or need to deal with, in your own life. Perhaps it describes a particular emotion you are feeling. Perhaps it is the Spirit of God connecting with your spirit. What’s powerful about this spiritual discipline is that the very next time you read that same particular passage of scripture, a different word or phrase may have meaning and importance to you.

That’s why I often return to the same passage in a lectio divina exercise, like the one found in Ecclesiastes. As I read it again now, see if there is anything that particularly speaks to your heart at this time and place.

        For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven;

• a time to be born, and a time to die;
• a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
• a time to kill, and a time to heal;
• a time to break down, and a time to build up;
• a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
• a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
• a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
• a time to seek, and a time to lose;
• a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.

Given today’s Gospel Lesson from Mark 2:1-12, I’d like to add something to that list:

• a time to carry, and a time to be carried.

Every once in a while, a particular thought or idea presented in a sermon remains in the conscious memory and is recalled from time to time. Sometimes long after I’ve forgotten what I have preached, someone will bring up something that they have heard in a sermon that sticks with them. (I guess sermons sometimes act as a kind of verbal lectio divina.)

Three years ago I preached on this assigned lectionary passage from Mark. Jesus heals a paralytic man after being carried on a mat by his friends and lowering through the roof of the house where Jesus was teaching because they couldn’t get in through the front door. I made a comment that instead of identifying with Jesus, or the crowd, or the scribes, or even the person in need of healing (all valid ways to approach the meaning of this story), that perhaps we could identify with the four friends that helped their buddy who was in need.

Following the analogy within the story, I suggested that we become “mat carriers” for others. This imagery has stuck with some of you. Therefore, I’d like to return to this theme again today. Because to tell you the truth, when I read this story three years ago and again this week, and reflected upon this congregation and its needs and ministry efforts, it wasn’t necessarily Jesus’ power to offer wholeness, the desire of the crowd to learn, the scribes’ questioning of authority, nor even the issues of healing and forgiveness that really caught my attention and imagination. Instead, it was the actions and faith of the friends of the person in need.

Have you ever considered that it may be the actions and faith of your family and friends that help contribute to your healing and wholeness? Have you ever considered that it may be by your actions and faith that a family member or friend has found wholeness?

Put yourself, for a moment, in the role of a friend. In this biblical account, the four friends voluntarily committed themselves to active intercession. We could call this advocacy. The friends of the paralyzed man, his support community, are willing to do whatever it takes to bring him into Jesus’ healing presence. If we can’t go in though the front door, then let’s go in through the roof!

These people faced what initially seemed to be impossible odds, yet they used their ingenuity and did not give up. Their determination acted as a prayer itself, a reflection and expression of their faith, hope, and love. Their example should give us strong encouragement to intercede on behalf of those who are in special need. It should give us courage to put our prayers and faith into action as well. We need to pray for others and we need others to pray for us.

Mark reveals that the man who suffered from paralysis (itself most likely a metaphor for that which holds us back) was not healed as a reward for his own private faith, but rather because Jesus was moved to compassion by the faith of his support community of friends. That’s one reason why the weekly time of sharing our joys and concerns, followed by prayer, is such a vital part of our services of worship.

Mark’s story, then, presents the church in miniature: as a person being sustained by the faith and determination of others when his or her own condition - physical, spiritual, mental or emotional – is, at least temporarily, less than sufficient.

So, to use the imagery found in today’s story, sometimes you and I are like the paralytic laying on the mat, relying on the help of friends to carry us. (As another spiritual exercise, you may want to reflect upon those things that paralyze you, or hold you back.) At other times, you and I are like one of the mat carriers, joining with the friends and community of support to help another. Or, to simply use the words that might have been used by the author of Ecclesiastes: there is a time to carry, and a time to be carried.

Concerning the latter, give thanks to God for those who have been (or currently are) “mat carriers” in your life – those willing to do whatever it takes (even ripping a hole through a roof) to help bring you to a state of healing and wholeness.

Concerning the former, be willing to be a “mat carrier” for others. In closing, I want to expand this last point just a bit. With all the potential changes that Bethany may soon be facing, perhaps the very survival of this congregation itself will depend on your determination, ingenuity, imagination and perseverance to be a “mat carrier” for this church.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

Amen.