TITLE: “Just Words”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning is the Gospel lesson just read, with focus on Jesus’ words: "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'?

The man was paralyzed. Unable to move. Unable to free himself from the shackles which bound him. But he had friends who cared for him. He had friends who were willing to go to great lengths to insure that this man got what he needed. We read in Saint Mark’s Gospel (ch. 2) that they lowered this man through the roof to make sure that he got into the presence of Jesus, the great Healer of body and soul.

Jesus, upon seeing their faith, then says to the man, Son, your sins are forgiven you. At first glance it is easy to think that Jesus missed the point. They hadn’t gone through so much work, so much pain and agony, for Jesus just to say a few words over him! That’s how we might look at this. They brought this man to get something, and Jesus simply gives them words. They are meant to make him feel better, or so we think.

But the Pharisees and the scribes, they understand what Jesus is saying. This man blasphemes! In other words, this man was claiming to be God in the flesh! No one can forgive sins except God alone! Who did He think He is, forgiving sins. They understood the cost of that forgiveness. They recognized that not just anyone could forgive sins. Only God could forgive sins.

Jesus, though, recognizes that they are thinking evil in their hearts. What is the evil in their hearts? The evil is that they didn’t believe Jesus was God. They didn’t believe He could forgive sins. So Jesus then asks the question, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'?”

Now from our perspective, this forgiveness of sins is cheap. Those are just words, and anyone can say words. Big deal. But Jesus’ point is that it is far easier to heal the body than it is to heal the soul through the release of forgiveness. But Jesus is God Himself. He does both. So first He forgives the man his sins, and second He heals the man of his disease. First he does the hard thing of forgiveness, and then He does the easy thing of healing the body. For in Jesus’ mind, the two go together. Forgiveness leads to resurrection and new life.

Now we by nature just don’t see things that way. Throughout the history of the world there has been a fascination and almost an obsession with healing the body. Doctors are held in very high regard in probably every culture in the world. When we think of the rescue workers in New York City or the police and firefighters throughout the country battling anthrax and trying to protect us, we count these people as having a special skill, maybe even a gift from God Himself to be able to protect us and save the body. And we should hold these people in very high regard. They are doing God’s work. For remember, Jesus is the Great Physician. It is God’s work to take care of our bodies, as we confess in the First Article of the Creed.

But so often, that is as far as it goes. So often we don’t get beyond the healing of the body. So often we just can’t get past what God continues to do to take care of us this day. We can easily obsess about the things of this life, that we forget the greater questions. We discard or count as unimportant how God heals both soul and body through the forgiveness of sins.

Forgiving sins is harder than healing the body. Those words, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the † Son and of the Holy Spirit from the liturgy are just words. But they are words bought with a price, and the price was Jesus’ very blood on the cross. Those words may seem cheap. They may be easy to take for granted, but those words are the most expensive words in the entire world.

This is the treasure that God gives us through Word and Sacrament. The treasure is forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. The treasure is Jesus Christ Himself, and His work on the cross for you. This treasure is priceless, worth far more than health of the body. For with these words come healing. No, not just healing for the moment. With these words come healing that reaches beyond the grave. With these words God heals your soul and body. With these words God gives you the greatest treasure of all.

The problem, of course, is that we don’t see it. You can’t measure forgiveness. It isn’t something you can grasp or calculate or even figure out. Furthermore, sometimes it isn’t even something you can feel. There are times in every Christian’s life when you feel great, you feel like God is on your side, and like everything is coming up roses. There are other times when you feel horrible, guilty, depressed, confused, or a thousand other emotions that we can’t figure out. It is easy in those dark hours to forget that God still forgives, and that He is still present with you.

But God’s Word remains secure. Christ’s forgiveness in the words, This is my body, this is my blood…for the forgiveness of sins…those words don’t go away. Emotions come and go. Sometimes we are conscious of our sinfulness, sometimes we are barely conscious of anything at all. But God’s Word, and the forgiveness given in Jesus’ name, that is the Rock upon which the Christian’s whole life depends.

That is why this text is also baptismal. Think of it. This sick man’s friends bring him to Jesus. Jesus looks at their faith and forgives the man’s sins. He looks at their faith. He doesn’t look at the sick man’s faith. But He forgives the paralyzed man’s sins. They came to bring this man healing, but Jesus gave the man the healing that goes beyond the grave. He forgives His sin, and then healed His body.

That is just like Baptism. In Holy Baptism, at least for most of you, you were brought by your parents or someone else. You didn’t come to get baptized because you wanted to. Even those who are baptized as adults, somebody brought you to church. Someone connected you to God’s Word. God heard their prayers and forgives your sin.

It’s hard to understand, I know. But that is the nature of God’s mercy. God comes down and gives beyond our wildest dreams. People come to church for lots of different reasons. Fellowship. Guilt. Friendship. Habit. There are, I’m sure, many other reasons. But God gives more than we can possibly imagine. He gives His Son over to death, so that you, with all of your quirky motivation and messed up lives, so that you might receive this greatest gift of all.

So in this house of God, things may not always seem as they really are. From the naked eye you may look out and see a band of sinners. You may see people you like and dislike. But we can truly say with Jacob, Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it. How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven! (Gen. 28:17) In this place, hiding behind simple words, water, bread and wine, the God of the Universe comes to you to forgive your sins. They are the hardest words in the world to say, but because of Christ’s work on the cross, God says them to you: I forgive you. Blest the children of our God. Believe it, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting. Amen.