"Do You Ask for Help?" - Mark 2:1-12 - February 19, 2006

In the past when I have preached this text, I have always focused on the faith of the men who carried the paralytic to Jesus to be healed. They must have believed in the healing power of Jesus since they went to such great lengths by lowering the man through the roof in order to reach him. Having friends who care about us to that extreme is a wonderful thing. No doubt the paralytic was grateful for the faith and determination of his pals.

You could say this is a story about asking for help. The men reached out to Jesus to help the paralytic. But, in order for that to happen, he had to accept their willingness to help him in the first place. He had to overcome his pride and risk the embarrassment of being lowered through the roof. Imagine the drama and suspense as the paralytic descended to the place where Jesus was teaching. His life after that event would never be the same. He would always have the reputation as the man who "came through the roof." No doubt people in the community would make jokes about him.

When we ask for help we have to be willing to accept whatever happens. It may be that we don’t ask for help because we don’t want to risk being embarrassed, or make it public knowledge that we have some limitation or infirmity. For men, especially, to go to the doctor is rare. Most men I know are reluctant to seek help because they believe they can fix themselves. Men boast of their victories, but who talks about their defeats?

Perhaps some folks don’t ask for help because they are afraid of the help that might come. One time a woman received a phone call at work that her daughter was very sick and she needed to go to the drugstore and take some medicine to her. When she went to her car she discovered she had locked her keys in her car. She didn’t know what to do, so she called the baby sitter to tell her she would be late. The sitter suggested she find a coat hanger to open the lock. The woman found a coat hanger but she didn’t know how to use it. She they bowed her head and asked God for help.

A few moments later a dirty, greasy, shaggy bearded, biker showed up and asked if she needed help. She thought, "God, this is what you sent to help me?" But, she was desperate and she told the man that her daughter was very sick and she had locked her keys in the car. "Please, sir, could you unlock my car?" she asked. He said, "Sure, lady." He walked over to the car with the coat hanger and within seconds he unlocked it. She was so grateful she hugged the biker and said, "Thank you so much, you are such a nice man." The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison a few hours ago. I did time for stealing cars." The woman hugged him again and looked up to God and said, "Thank you God for sending me a professional."

The lady may have received more than she bargained for. I believe that the paralytic may have received more than he bargained for. He readily accepted the help of his friends who then carried him to Jesus. He is healed and able to walk, but Jesus did something else that surprised everyone there, especially the paralytic. Jesus said to him, "Your sins are forgiven." This was not something he had come for. This was a total surprise. The Pharisees who were present were offended by Jesus’ words of forgiveness. They called it blasphemy. Who did this man, Jesus, think he was, forgiving someone? This was more than anyone could hear.

I have a theory that may sound strange but I believe that people really don’t want to be forgiven. That may surprise you but the more I read this story the more I am convinced that the paralytic didn’t want to be forgiven either. "Which is easier," Jesus said, "To be forgiven, or rise, take up your pallet and walk?"

When we are forgiven we are reconciled. True reconciliation means our lives have to change. Forgiveness opens the door to new directions. It means we now must take some responsibility for our lives and live differently. I’m beginning to discover that "guilt" is a wonderful defense mechanism. A defense mechanism is something we do to protect ourselves from having to change. Defense mechanisms keep others at a distance and enable us to remain the way we are. In other words, we use defense mechanisms as a means of resisting change and proceeding in a direction we don’t want to go.

People who choose not to come to worship say the church is boring, irrelevant, or that all we ever ask for is money. I believe they stay away because they don’t want to be forgiven. Forgiveness challenges people to change. Forgiveness sets people free. A person who is forgiven is a person who will not be concerned what others think. If they had to be carried to Jesus and lowered through the roof, so be it. The freedom to walk away, having experienced the love of Jesus Christ will be worth the journey.

Someone recently told me that I quit trying when the way becomes a little too difficult. I am almost deaf and so I had a hearing test. The test confirmed my deafness. It all seemed hopeless so I haven’t returned to try a hearing aid. I used to be a person who was very determined and not afraid to go the distance even when I met up with obstacles. Now that I am middle-aged, I seem to give up, rather than risk failure. In that sense I am unwilling to forgive myself and using that as a defense mechanism to stay the way I am., rather than move forward.

Currently we are in the midst of the Winter Olympic games in Italy. In the past I would watch the games with enthusiasm, cheering the US athletes to victory. This year I seem to be disinterested. I have read several articles in the sports pages about American athletes who have crashed and been injured and had to withdraw from the games. Perhaps I am identifying with them because its to painful to witness people pursue their dreams and fail in the process.

In 1988, Olympic speed skater, Dan Jansen, lost both races he competed in. Rather than quit, he asked Dr. Jim Loehr, a psychologist, to help him find some balance in his life. Dr. Loehr helped him pay more attention to the mental aspects of skating. Jansen also hired a new coach, Peter Mueller, who put him through rigorous work outs. When the 1994 Olympics arrived, Jansen had more confidence than ever before. He set a world record inthe five-hundred meter just two months prior to the games. But, when he competed in the race in the Olympic games, he fell. Dr. Loehr immediately advised him to start preparing for the one thousand-meter, a race Jansen had never competed in. At the encouragement of Dr. Loehr and his coach, Jansen competed and he won the race by setting a new world record.

The fear of setbacks can hold us back. And, the unwillingness to accept forgiveness can be used as a defense mechanism to keep us from changing our lives. God wants us to ask for help, not just to heal our sore joints or cure us from our ailments, but God wants us to accept his forgiveness so that we can be made whole.

Overcoming our pride and asking for help is just the first step. Accepting that help and then following through comes next. Anyone can be healed, but only those who really want to be free and willing to move on can experience the liberating forgiveness of God.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio