THE FAITH THAT TEARS THE ROOF OFF!

Isaiah 35:1-10
Luke 5:17-26

The season of Advent draws us closer to God made visible in the infant King and through God’s friends, we have a great opportunity to come to a better understanding of these friends of God or the advent iconic figures such as prophet Isaiah, John the Baptist, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary and Jesus? Who were this persons? In our first reading taken from the book of Isaiah, the Prophet Isaiah lived within a community of people who were in a hopeless situation. They were trapped, feeling helpless without a tangible way of escaping their desperation.  Having resigned themselves to believe there is no way out, Isaiah begins speaking about the reality of their exile, yet he’s filled with conviction that God is about to do something about their situation.  Why? Because God is the God who saves. 

Isaiah frequently contrasts images that usually do not fit together and the Most intriguing to me is the line that says, “a highway will be there, called the holy way.”  that is, a highway undefiled which shall be called the Sacred Way; the unclean may not travel by it,nor fools stray along it. Lions and lambs together, blind eyes seeing again, dry deserts overflowing with flowing streams. Not surprisingly we get some of that in today’s first reading and many of Isaiah’s vision of old. Isaiah recognizes that only God does the impossible.  Most of us believe that God can do the impossible. We frequently would call that a miracle.  Yet, in reading Isaiah, I get the sense that he is trying to say that God is much more than one who occasionally breaks through the laws of the universe for some greater good or personal request. Isaiah is saying that the very ground we all stand on is shifting sand. 

If there’s one thing these last three years have taught us is that life doesn’t stay constant, it’s always shifting and changing.  There are always forces at work beyond us.  Our lives are filled with blessings, challenges, and the confrontation of evil.  Undoubtedly, living with the unpredictability of life is challenging.  Faith for us provides some kind of vision beyond whatever difficult situation we find ourselves.  And it’s out of this energy that Isaiah speaks. In general, Isaiah reminds us that stability and predictability are the illusion.  And the encouragement we receive is a particular freedom given to us that the highway or holy way may bring deeper trust in God’s faithfulness and generosity to us.

Most of us are quite familiar with this story of the paralyzed man who was brought on a mat by his friends before Jesus in a crowded room and lowered through the roof But I’m sitting here asking what was it like for him?  Did he have any desire to see Jesus or was that the desire of his friends who brought him?  What is going through his mind when Jesus says to him rise and walk? How long had it been since he had used his leg muscles?  Did he even believe he could stand? Everybody staring at him.  What happens if he makes a fool of himself, and he falls?  He probably didn’t trust himself; how could he ever trust a person he’s never met challenging him to do something he thought was impossible?  Yet somehow in that moment he goes beyond merely walking out of the crowded illumined room.  He bravely he picks up his stretcher and carries it. He’s no longer a prisoner to the stretcher, he now holds the stretcher’s destiny in his arms. The faith of his friends brought him Jesus and he received forgiveness of sins and healing.. There will be a hole in the roof too for us to receive healing and mercy from God. The Gospel tells us in other words, that it takes the faith of others to help us especially when we are crippled and paralyzed by sin. Yes, we see the healing received totally but we also recognized the loving care and faith of others that is ready to tear the roof off to help a friend. Be grateful to God today for the people that cares for you and those we care about deeply. It is a reminder of how God saves us.

In this advent season, let us appreciate those who bring us closer to God and celebrate the gift of friendship in our lives and we pray that we may bring ourselves closer to the healing and redemption of God by our own efforts of mercy, compassion and hospitality. Towards others. To God be the glory. Amen.

Fr Joseph Osho