{"id":3430,"date":"2024-02-27T09:52:35","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T14:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=3430"},"modified":"2024-02-27T09:52:35","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T14:52:35","slug":"words-of-healing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/27\/words-of-healing\/","title":{"rendered":"Words of Healing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a>
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Every day during this season of Lent we\u2019re looking at the miracles of Jesus \u2013 his spectacular displays of supernatural power that are reported in the Gospels.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>
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Frank Abagnale has made a living telling amazingly improbable stories.\u00a0
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About himself<\/em>.\u00a0
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The 75-year-old Abagnale claims to have masqueraded as an assistant state attorney general in Louisiana, helping to close 33 cases.\u00a0 Before reaching the age of 20, he pretended to be a staff pediatrician at Cobb General Hospital in Georgia.\u00a0 Even though he had no medical training, he supervised seven residents and 42 nurses.\u00a0
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He further claims to have served as a sociology professor for two semesters at Brigham Young University in Utah, despite the fact he never interviewed for such a position.
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Abagnale bought a second-hand pilot\u2019s uniform and began \u201cdeadheading\u201d (flying without having cabin responsibilities) with Pan American World Airlines.\u00a0 He estimates that he traveled more than 2 million miles. \u00a0At other times and places he pretended to be a cook, a grocer, and a movie projectionist.\u00a0 He even visited college campuses to recruit coeds to become Pan Am flight attendants.\u00a0
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How did Abagnale finance such shenanigans?\u00a0 He claims to have passed more than 17,000 bad checks, totaling millions of dollars.\u00a0
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He admits being arrested and doing time in prison, but also boasts of eluding the FBI on multiple occasions, and even escaping from a federal penitentiary.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0
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His reputation as the world\u2019s greatest charlatan was enhanced by his 1980 autobiography, Catch Me If You Can<\/em>.\u00a0 Steven Spielberg was sufficiently impressed to turn it into a box office smash.\u00a0 If your story ends up on the big screen and you\u2019re being played by Leonardo DiCaprio, in a cast that features Tom Hanks, life is good.\u00a0
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In recent years Abagnale has been cashing in on his notoriety.\u00a0 He runs a business that helps organizations detect fraud, and gives speeches for up to $30,000 a pop.\u00a0 In September 2022 he was granted the Xavier University \u201cHeroes in Ethics Award\u201d (of all things), and delivered the keynote address.\u00a0
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By that time, however, it was abundantly clear that most of his stories were complete claptrap.\u00a0 Yes, he did a little pretending from time to time.\u00a0 But Frank Abagnale, it turns out, is not much more than an amazingly confident liar.
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As he put it, \u201cOne gentleman said to me, \u2018If you didn\u2019t do all those things, and you\u2019ve made all this money in advances, royalties, and speaking engagements, then you are in fact the world\u2019s greatest con man.\u201d Ironically, that suits Frank just fine.\u00a0 If you can\u2019t be the world\u2019s greatest pretender, at least you can be a superstar liar.\u00a0 \u00a0
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Which brings us to Jesus.
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Was Jesus for real or was he just a charlatan?\u00a0 For many people, the jury is still out, even after 20 centuries.\u00a0 Was he God in the flesh or just a skillful pretender \u2013 somebody who has somehow managed to fool billions of people?\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0
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Those alternatives are very much up for grabs in his conversation with the paralytic lowered through the roof.\u00a0 All three of the so-called Synoptic (\u201csee-things-the-same-way\u201d) Gospels \u2013 Matthew, Mark, and Luke \u2013 include a version of this event.\u00a0
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As we noted yesterday, the man on the mat has an obvious, glaring need.\u00a0 He cannot walk.\u00a0 His friends have courageously (not to mention creatively) brought him to Jesus.\u00a0 What will Jesus do?\u00a0 Strangely, he seems to change the subject.\u00a0 Let\u2019s return to Mark chapter two:
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When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, \u201cSon, your sins are forgiven.\u201d\u00a0 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, \u201cWhy does this fellow talk like that?\u00a0 He\u2019s blaspheming!\u00a0 Who can forgive sins but God alone?\u201d<\/em>
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Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them,\u00a0\u201cWhy are you thinking these things?\u00a0\u00a0Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, \u2018Your sins are forgiven,\u2019 or to say, \u2018Get up, take your mat and walk\u2019?\u00a0But I want you to know that the Son of Man\u00a0has authority on earth to forgive sins.\u201d\u00a0So he said to the man,\u00a0\u201cI tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God,\u00a0saying, \u201cWe have never seen anything like this!\u201d<\/em> (Mark 2:5-12)
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This story has been such a Sunday School favorite for so long that we have to work hard to recover something of the shock it no doubt generated.
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Jesus claims he has the authority to forgive sins.\u00a0 Excuse me?<\/em>\u00a0
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Imagine that you just discovered your driver\u2019s license has expired.\u00a0 You need to get to the BMV as soon as possible.\u00a0 \u201cOh, don\u2019t worry,\u201d I say, \u201cI can take care of that for you,\u201d and I hand you what I insist is a valid replacement card.\u00a0 Or maybe you\u2019re wrestling with your mortgage payment this month.\u00a0 \u201cNo need to fret,\u201d I say, reassuringly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve instructed the bank to erase your debt.\u201d
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The odds are good that in the near future I would have the opportunity to converse with a psychiatrist, local law enforcement, and Homeland Security \u2013 although perhaps not in that order.\u00a0 I have absolutely no authority to act on behalf of the government or your favorite bank.\u00a0
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That\u2019s the affect of Jesus\u2019 outrageous claim to forgive sins. \u00a0Sin is a debt we\u2019ve incurred against God and\/or other people.\u00a0 No one can credibly claim to do what only God can do.
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Unless, of course, Jesus can provide evidence that he does indeed have such authority.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0
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The Jewish law experts who are squeezed into the house along with the crowd \u2013 think of them as the Heresy Detection Squad \u2013 can\u2019t believe what they\u2019ve just heard.\u00a0 Their theological smoke detectors are shrieking.\u00a0 By putting himself in God\u2019s place, Jesus has uttered blasphemy.\u00a0
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And blasphemy is no small potatoes.\u00a0 According to the Torah, it is a capital crime.\u00a0 It\u2019s as if Jesus has just said, \u201cCatch me if you can.\u201d\u00a0 They have every intention of doing just that.\u00a0
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Jesus reads the room.\u00a0 Then he doubles down on his claim to have divine authority.\u00a0 \u201cSo which is easier, to say \u2018Your sins are forgiven,\u201d or to say, \u201cGet up, pick up your mat and walk?\u201d\u00a0 The answer to that question is obvious.\u00a0 It is infinitely easier to say \u201cYour sins are forgiven.\u201d\u00a0 You might be executed in Israel for saying such a thing, but no one (technically) can prove that you\u2019re a spiritual fraud.
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But if you say to a physically disabled man, \u201cPick up your mat and start walking; you may have come in through that brand new skylight, but you\u2019re going home through the front door,\u201d then your reputation is totally on the line.\u00a0 If nothing happens, everyone will know you\u2019re a charlatan.\u00a0 A phony.\u00a0 Someone who raises false hopes.
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But if that man stands up on two strong legs and starts walking, there\u2019s a chance \u2013 a real chance \u2013 that you\u2019re a major player in the forgiveness business after all.
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Incredibly, it happens.\u00a0
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Luke reports, \u201cAnd amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, \u2018We have seen extraordinary things today\u2019\u201d (Luke 5:26).\u00a0 The Greek word translated \u201cextraordinary things\u201d is paradoxa<\/em>, from which we get our word \u201cparadox.\u201d\u00a0
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A paradox compels us to hold together two apparently conflicting realities.\u00a0 Jesus seems to be a regular human being.\u00a0 Yet he claims to have the authority to forgive sins, and has the power to resolve hopeless medical cases.\u00a0 Who in the world is this man?<\/em>\u00a0
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The crowd is amazed.\u00a0 They glorify God. The law experts are furious. \u00a0They see Jesus as a first century Frank Abagnale, a spiritual con artist, and they intend to take him down.
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Here\u2019s how the TV series The Chosen<\/em> portrays this famous scene: Healing the Paralytic at Capernaum – The Chosen (youtube.com)<\/a>
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Something else might be happening here.
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What would be the most transforming words a paralytic in Bible times could ever hope to hear?\u00a0 \u201cYour sins are forgiven.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 It was widely assumed that anyone with a crippling injury or defective body was under the curse of God. \u00a0Somebody had sinned \u2013 either you or your parents. \u00a0
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Spiritually, this was unimaginably cruel.\u00a0 Imagine waking up, morning after morning, knowing that God is not in your court.\u00a0 You can\u2019t get well because of some Horrible Thing you have done.\u00a0 You live, move, and breathe every day inside a body that reminds you that you are not forgiven.
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But now imagine hearing that the judgment hanging over your head has been rescinded.
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It\u2019s possible that the first essential step in this dramatic healing is a transformation in the paralytic\u2019s mind.\u00a0 It dawns on him: He is not a hopeless case<\/em>.\u00a0 Suddenly, as never before, he can genuinely receive what Jesus is able and willing to give.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0
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Maybe you\u2019ve been there.\u00a0 Because of something you\u2019ve done<\/em> or something you think you are<\/em>, you feel undeserving of God\u2019s love, joy, and mercy.\u00a0 You don\u2019t deserve God\u2019s grace.\u00a0
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So let\u2019s clear something up: \u00a0You\u2019re absolutely right.\u00a0 Just like everyone else, you most certainly don\u2019t deserve God\u2019s grace.\u00a0
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But that\u2019s why it\u2019s amazing.\u00a0 Whoever comes to Jesus with open hands and an open heart will hear the same words the paralytic heard:
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Your sins are forgiven<\/em>.\u00a0 \u00a0
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Those are the ultimate words of healing.

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here\u00a0Every day during this season of Lent we\u2019re looking at the miracles of Jesus \u2013 his spectacular displays of supernatural power that are reported in the Gospels.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Frank Abagnale has made a living telling amazingly improbable stories.\u00a0\u00a0About himself.\u00a0\u00a0The 75-year-old Abagnale claims to have masqueraded as an assistant state attorney general in Louisiana,… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[76,11],"class_list":["post-3430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-forgiveness","tag-miracles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3430"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3432,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3430\/revisions\/3432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}