Psalm 121, 122, 123; 2 Kings 22:1-13; 1 Cor. 11:2,17-22; Matt. 9:1-8
How do the people of God lose touch with Him? They “found” the book of the law in the temple and knew immediately what was wrong, that they were under judgment. It seems incredible that the Jews could ever have gone so far from the Lord that they didn’t know the law but we see it several times in the Old Testament, not just here but also in Nehemiah. That book is their story, it tells them who they are, they are the redeemed of the Lord, delivered from slavery in Egypt, His treasured possession, a royal priesthood. When we lose the Word of God we lose everything, even our identity. Too often we allow others to read and interpret the word to us and for us and in so doing we typically reduce it to a caricature of itself, our favorite bits are all we bother with and we lose touch with, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story. We need always to be in the Word, the entire counsel of God, allowing it to shape our lives by conviction of sin and encouragement by His love for us. God’s people are defined by the Word, both written and in the Spirit.
Does Jesus pronounce forgiveness of sins simply to provoke the religious people? I believe that there was a connection in this particular case between the paralysis and sin of some type. Psychologically, there are cases of paralysis or other illness for which the cause cannot be determined and here we see that healing happened after absolution of sin. There are no other situations of which we are told where Jesus does things this way. We sometimes lose sight of the power of forgiveness in our lives after we receive and are thankful for the initial grace to save us. In order to recover the power of forgiveness we need to develop a deeper sensitivity to sin and a desire to confess. If we had a stronger drive to holiness in our lives we might well know the power of forgiveness.
Paul is upset with the Corinthians for their lack of true communion. We can’t know for certain here whether we are talking about a fellowship meal or the eucharist itself but in any case it seems that they are dividing themselves socio-economically during the meal. The church is meant to be family, all sharing with one another, not separated into factions. Frequently it is that very division among us that the world notes. There are separations within individual churches and then there is the larger separation between denominations. Denominational separation that is simply based on distinctives but where there is unity in the bond of love and common faith is acceptable, but that which is based on spiritual pride of any sort is unacceptable to the Lord. We need one another and we need to display the unity of the body of Christ and work towards that unity, recovering the wholeness that was so important in the witness of the early church and the unity for which Jesus prayed in John 17.
The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His folk, He doth us feed,
And for His sheep He doth us take.
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