Sunday of the Paralytic Man 2024

Ambon Prayer 74

The Holy Bishop-Martyr Januarius and His Companions; the Holy Martyr Theodore of Perga

After dismissal, the priest says, “Christ is risen” + response 3x; Paschal Troparion is sung once by priest and 2x by people (DL 170)

Title

A tale of two paralytics

Outline

Our readings have two paralytics:

Let us see the similarities and differences

One does not know Jesus and one may

Peter sees Aeneas and says “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” Peter makes it clear that he did not do the healing, Jesus did, but it is not clear whether Aeneas was a Jesus follower or not. However, the use of his name suggests he was a follower afterwards.

Jesus sees the man at the poor and says on his own authority, “Rise, take up your pallet, and walk.” The man clearly did not know Jesus, for when asked about it later he said he did not know who the healer was.

One had given up hope and the other perhaps had hope

Aeneas had been bedridden for 8 years, but nothing in the interaction makes us think he was in despair.

The man at the pool had been ill for 38 years. When Jesus says, “Do you want to be healed?” He does not answer with “Yes,” but makes excuses about why he had not been healed although he was laying by a healing pool. Clearly he had given up hope.

One gives rise to the question of whether the healing was kosher and the other gives rise to faith in Jesus

The whole point in John ch 5 is that the healing of a non-fatal illness happened on the sabbath. When Jesus goes on to point to God’s working on the sabbath and his doing as his Father had done, the Jerusalem Jews are not just upset, they are bent on killing him. The healing fades from view for the issue is who Jesus really is.

The Aeneas incident leads to an immediate recognition of who Jesus is, for “all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.” There is no hostility in this semi-Jewish area but rather receptivity once they saw the healing.

One man had sinned and the other results in the forgiveness of sins

Jesus says to the man at the pool, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you.” That implies that sin was at the root of the paralysis. Furthermore, the man goes on to identify Jesus to hostile people.

That Aeneas is named suggests that he either was or now became part of the believing community. Not only that, but his fellow-citizens did as well. Perhaps his lack of investment in Jewish status led to his openness to Jesus.

We surely could find more contrasts here, but let us draw some conclusions

Sin can be the source of spiritual or physical paralysis and if we do not recognize our sin or if we let others rather than Jesus define what is sin we may need special grace to receive the healing Jesus wants to offer.

Second, while all sorts of evil in the world can lead to spiritual or physical paralysis, the failure to be open to Jesus and to recognize who he is complicates healing/release.

Third, in this age Jesus is not in the condemning business but in the healing business, but healing will clearly be linked to accepting who he is and then following him. That is also what prevents us from falling back into a worse spiritual paralysis.

Finally, notice that Peter (and other disciples of Jesus) do just what Jesus did. But there is one difference, for Jesus heals on his own authority and they heal in the name of Jesus, both here and in Acts ch 3. That shows who is the Master, the Lord, but it also shows that they are true disciples.

Let us, then, also be disciples and respond to the world with the compassion of Jesus and with openness to the authority of Jesus following through us his obedient disciples.