Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
-Mark 2:3-5

Let's get one thing really, really straight, right from the start: I don't think that everyone who is sick or injured is experiencing some sort punishment for sin. I know that the last verse of this passage suggests that possibility. When the gospel was written, that was often the way people understood the world around them. But I don't really think that's the point of the story.

You know, the gospels are full of stories about healing, and each one is a little different. (It's a good reminder that no two people have quite the same encounter with Jesus.) When I read this story, it's the man's friends who catch my attention. Surely they grieved their friend's suffering, as we grieve the suffering of those around us. But their caring didn't stop there. They had a hunch that Jesus could help him, so they carried their friend to see him. They didn't let the crowds stop them; they dug through a roof and dropped him in. Both their faith and their perseverance stand as witnesses for the rest of us, testifying to the ways that grace overflows in our relationships with one another.

Always this story reminds me of the blessings of friendship, the importance of being good neighbors, and the deep-rooted strength that we find in what the church has long called the 'communion of the saints.' Having been loved by God, we're all free to love one another. In this way, Christ's ministry among us called together a community of people who cared deeply for each other. In Christ's resurrection, we find reason to believe that, for all our weaknesses and our mistakes, the caring we share with other people can actually be the way that God showers grace on the world.

One of my favorite parts about being a campus minister is the opportunity to see the friendships that form between students. I see the care you express for one another, the way you uphold each other in times of stress and frustration and sadness, I see the way you join together in celebrating your victories (like a completed paper) and milestones (birthday, whatever). I see in you students many of the same strengths that we see in the friends of the paralytic. I'm not sure that you see that in yourselves, but that's okay... for now. Sometimes the simplest expressions of care can the clearest windows into God's love for us.

The Quakers, when they pray for someone, say that they're holding that person in the light. It's a wonderful image. It's a meaningful way to describe the way the paralytic's friends carried him to Christ, or the way we care for each other. Some time, try lighting a candle in a dark room, and pray for those you love one by one, holding them in your thoughts and in the light of God's love. When we know that we're holding others in the light, it changes the way we treat each other, and makes us more ready to see the grace that God gives to us through one another. Makes you wonder how the world could be different, if we'd all just walk around with an awareness that each person is held in God's love. We'd probably take more time to take care of each other, just like the friends who carried the paralytic and lowered him through the roof.