March 10, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him. With Him were His disciples. There were many who followed Him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked His disciples: ‘Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?‘ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”

(Mark 2.15-17)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

We live in a world that clammers for a “culture and climate” of inclusion. It would seem that “inclusion” in today’s society means “everyone is treated equally and given the same rights and respect as everyone else.” Is that what authentic inclusion means? I believe many promote inclusion as a call for the right of “equal opportunity before the law.” This “right” is more for those who have a disability, physical or intellectual, who might be denied equal access to the same job as others because of that disability (including gender and ethnicity.) Too many may disqualify these based on processes instead of outcomes. We have learned to modify and accommodate processes to achieve the same outcome or, in some instances, even better. We know that train of thought as “the ends justify the means.” The problem may well exist when we speak of the “ends,” the outcomes. What is it that we desire to be truly produced, for what purpose and to what end? Is life then a product or a process? Sadly, disabilities and the prevailing attitudes toward them are based on a false understanding of causation. We saw that rooted in the precursor to Levi’s call to be a disciple of Jesus. Jesus decided to heal the man based on the faith of his four friends. The healing Jesus first offered was not a physical healing but a spiritual one. We dare not forget that this was Jesus’ greatest purpose on earth. Yes, He came to model the life of righteousness. He came to restore community and bring those who were condemned as lost and unacceptable back into the fold. He came to remind the people of God, the Jews, of their purpose to be “a light unto the world that would draw all of God’s people back to God.” He came most to address the greatest disabling factor known to humankind- sin.

And here is the gospel view of inclusion- all have sinned whether they have admitted it or not. The Apostle Paul said to the Christians throughout the Roman Empire, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God….Equally all are justified through grace by the redemption He offers through Jesus Christ.” (Romans 3.23-24) I have mentioned it before that the prevailing attitude was maladies of the mind, body and spirit were the evidences of sin. Those who believed it may have even professed that even if one sought forgiveness and did penance, but had no healing were still steeped in sin. Little wonder why Jesus would send healed people home to their priest to show themselves to be made well and thus forgiven of their sins, or the generational sins of their family heaped on them. Short of a miraculous healing (not one performed a person but of God), everyone knew this was not going to happen. Thus, there were whole communities of “lost and sick” people of God who existed unto themselves. Those who kept their faith continued to practice a life of righteousness to the best of the ability. Jesus challenged such hurtful and destructive “religion.” It fell upon widows, orphans, the disabled, the sick and the foreigner. Imagine then the conflict Jesus really caused when the first thing He said to the “man on the pallet” was, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Heads snapped! Follow along:

SON: Jesus spoke to the man as a father, just as He was a son, too. He gave the man more than four faith-filled friends. He gave him a family. Jesus included the man, and thus the men with him, into His own family. He excluded alienation with the inclusive confirmation. I can hear Luke’s “father of the prodigal” saying “son” with the similar strong inclusive intent.

YOUR: Jesus spoke with direction to the root of the problem. There were many others in the room and outside the house at that moment. Luke speaks of a crowd of Jewish religious representatives who had come from other countries (the Diaspora), Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem. Matthew and Mark simply admit the number of people was so great there was no room enough for them all. Yet in the midst of all of that, Jesus spoke directly to “the man on the pallet.” He saw the faith of his friends and in their eyes, He saw “the man.” It was as if there was no one else there. It was not any different as when the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of His garment. Many were touching Him but He felt only the touch of one who’s faith spoke truth.

SINS: Nothing else mattered in the moment. Jesus had to address the consequence of sin which was separation from family and friends. We do not know the circumstance which disabled him. From the common thought of the day, as I mentioned before, whatever it was became a sign of unforgivable sin. It was as if he was being punished whether he was innocent or guilty. The issue was “sin.” It was the sin of the fathers who had eaten sour grapes. It was the sin of his own doing which manifested itself into a lifestyle dangerous to his health. It was the sin of unconfessed sin or the submission to the demons of some sort. It was the sin of others heaped upon him so that he was as good as buried. The four friends wanted relief. The man wanted freedom. Jesus wanted restoration and reconciliation.

ARE: Jesus spoke in the present tense. Just as He spoke to the penitent thief on the cross saying “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise,” so Jesus spoke to the man “in the moment.” There was nothing the man could do. There was nothing more the man had to do. There was nothing the man would need to do. Even if he had doubts, his friends did not. Their motivation was pure and unadulterated. They wanted nothing for themselves. They wanted for their friend to see Jesus because they believe it meant everything. It would mean everything if the only thing was “he got to see Jesus” in the moment, without delay, without worry, without condemnation, without rebuke, without being able to walk. He got to see Jesus. He got to look into His eyes. He got to see love, faith, hope. He got to see a glimpse of God the Father through Jesus the Son. Most of all for me is the sense of anticipation. Imagine all eyes and ears are focused on the moment. When the dust began to fall from the ceiling as it was being broken through. When the sunlight poured from heaven above. When the litter was left down by four ropes tied to four corners handled by four men. When the litter dropped lower and lower, slowly and carefully and maybe even with a slip or a pull one way or another. When the crowd near Jesus, regardless of who it was, had to push back either to avoid the sinner or to make room for what was about to happen. When the eyes of everyone dared to look at someone else and ask in their mind “What are they thinking at this moment?” It was an anticipation. Hear it and Jesus could have said it slowly and intentionally, “Son” “your” “sins” “are….” This is it, the moment of truth. It was a living, breathing moment filled with anticipation, expectation, hopefulness and dread. What would Jesus say next?

FORGIVEN: It was not a “mike drop” statement, per se. But, it did what it was supposed to do. It challenged the abnormal conventional wisdom of the day that had been cultivated for centuries. The question moved from what Jesus said and was doing to “Who said YOU can say it and do it?” Only God can forgive! The Pharisees and teachers of the Law present were not talking about the congenial forgiveness of “I’m sorry” which was as easily forgotten as where the breath to say it came from. They were not talking about the forgiveness of debts, financial or otherwise as in the never practiced Jubilee. They were not talking about the casual “Excuse me” which was callously offered when someone got in their way even when they were the culpable one who actually got in the way of others. No, they full well understood Jesus was speaking of blessing the man with restoration regardless of his mental, physical, emotional or spiritual condition before, during or after. Such a person and such people could never be like them! And that was the point Jesus was making and I will reflect on that tomorrow. In that moment, Jesus was only concerned about restoring the soul of the man whose life had been abused accidentally at birth or intentionally by some act or human condition. Jesus wanted to resolve the greatest problem and remove the greatest weight. What was that? The greatest problem we all face is the “absence of God” in our lives. Jesus was, is and will always be- Immanuel, God with us. Nothing else matters if God is not with us, if God is against us and if we are separated from the love of God which is for all people.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.