One day as Jesus was teaching,Pharisees and teachers of the law,who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,were sitting there,and the power of the Lord was with him for healing. And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd,they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said,"As for you, your sins are forgiven." Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves,"Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?" Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply,"What are you thinking in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,'or to say, ‘Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"–he said to the one who was paralyzed,"I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home." He stood up immediately before them,picked up what he had been lying on,and went home, glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God,and, struck with awe, they said,"We have seen incredible things today."
Luke 5:17-26
Have you ever encountered a situation where you were stuck and couldn't move for the longest time ever? Worse still, when you were stuck in that same position, there were many obstacles that made it harder for you to move on? These obstacles can come in the form of people, situations, or just simply the way things are.
When we face a situation like this, we are like the paralyzed man who cannot move at all. Even though there are many external obstacles that paralyzes us, the great paralysis is ourselves. Are we facing obstacles within ourselves? Are we creating barriers in our lives/hearts? These obstacles/barriers are not created by others; they are created by ourselves. So, if we cannot overcome these barriers/obstacles we created by ourselves, how can we then overcome the external barriers?
That is when, the paralyzed man has the help of his community. We cannot get out of our paralysis if we are willing to receive help from the people around us. That is, if we are willing to let go and open your heart to receiving help from others. If we do that, we will be like the paralyzed man whom, with the help of his community, to break through these barriers and FINALLY, moving on.
Take a look at your life right now.. are you moving on? Do you think you are moving on? Or rather, is moving on just a delusion? An illusion?
The ultimate one who will help us break our paralysis is Jesus Christ. Of course, sometimes we may need the help of one or two people around us but when we feel we are alone, we can only look towards the example of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the only one who has the authority to say "Rise and Walk". If you keep your eyes fixed on Him and abandon yourself to Him in your paralysis, He will cast your paralysis away such that you will also "stand up and walk".
But do take a look at the people around you. Are they like the men carrying the paralyzed man on the stretcher? I pray then, that whenever we are like the paralyzed man, we may allow ourselves to be carried by other people for a while. And most importantly, to be carried by the love of Jesus Christ.
On a personal note, when I read this passage, I could identify with the paralyzed man. That was during the time when I was planning for the December Camp. It was during the time when I felt I could not go on anymore. I found it really difficult to move on cos I just didn't know what to do at all. There were some ways out but if I were to choose this way out, I had to overcome a barrier infront of me. So basically, I was like the paralyzed man, finding it real difficult to reach Jesus.
But along the way, there were some people who carried me on the "stretcher". These were my friends, the rest of my Dec Camp committee and the other remaining sponfrienders. These are the people who have helped to drop me through the hole in the rooftop.
But ultimately, the greatest consolation I ever had was to rest in Jesus. The resting comes from a self-abandonment in Jesus' embrace. I relish the days I would run to Him either in the Eucharist or in the Adoration Room where I would surrender everything in His hands. Perhaps it was easier cos it has come to a point in time that I cannot do anything about it and can only leave it up to God... it's like "God, you take charge now!" And the greatest consolation was coming out feeling refreshed, replenished, rejuvenated and with a greater energy to move on, getting out of that paralysis.
Sometimes I find myself making difficult decisions (which may not be understood) but again, the greatest consolation I ever have is to be confident that this is the decision that I will make after much careful discernment. And yes, being the i/c of December Camp, making these decisions can be really stressful and emotionally draining but again, if I rest these decisions in total surrender to God, surely He would take care of whatever results that come out of these decisions?
I am very thankful for the ways God has led myself and my committee and the sponfrienders through December Camp. It's like God has led us through every stage of the planning and execution and in the end, through the many prayers, worrying and discussion, we broke free of everything and could "stand up and walk"
God has broken the barriers within me during the Exposition Night. I could feel Him coming towards me and lifting every single burden and cross I had to carry on His shoulders. His presence was so strong that I just broke down in total surrender and in total abandonment. It was like... a baby resting in her mother's embrace.. weeping and being consoled.
Without God taking my burdens and cross upon His shoulders, I would not have walked free... would not have risen and walked on... And I thank God for helping me to walk on... such that now, I am seeing things clearer and with a lighter "luggage".
Jesus said to his disciples: "What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost."
Matthew 18:12-14
