Trinity 19 2026

Text: “6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home”” (Matthew 9:6).

There is something terribly wrong with this world.

I don’t think I need to convince you of that. We’ve had more than enough reminders of it over the past year. For example, think of how many members of our congregation, how many friends and family members, have died. Some of those deaths came suddenly, without any warning at all. Others were expected, but even then, death came much sooner than we thought it would. We thought we had more time. Another visit. Another conversation. Another opportunity to say the things we wanted to say. And suddenly, that opportunity was gone.

And death is hardly the only reminder that something is wrong. Our bodies wear out. We get sick. We suffer injuries. We find ourselves unable to do things that once came so easily. Sometimes we recover. Sometimes we don’t. Sometimes the doctors can help us, and sometimes there is simply nothing more they can do.

And it is not just our bodies. I can’t help but return to what I brought up a couple of weeks ago: relationships that have been damaged. Families that have been torn apart. Friendships that have ended. People who once loved one another, who now barely speak to one another. And sometimes we don’t even have to look beyond the walls of our own congregation to see it. There are hurts that haven’t healed. There are resentments that have been carried for years. There are people who struggle even to be in the same room with one another.

And those are only a couple of examples. It is all around us every day. Wars and violence. Injustice and corruption. Cruelty and greed. Financial worries. Loneliness. Fear about what the future holds for our children and grandchildren. Sometimes the troubles are far away. Sometimes they are right in our own homes.

Of course, sometimes we suffer because of the sins of others. We may have been deeply hurt by someone else’s selfishness, cruelty, or unfaithfulness. And sometimes there is very little we could have done to prevent it. But we also have to acknowledge that sin isn’t merely something other people do to us. We are sinners ourselves. We have said things we shouldn’t have said. We have failed to love our neighbors as ourselves. We have harbored anger and resentment. We have sinned against God and against one another. We aren’t merely living in a world corrupted by sin. We are part of the reason it is corrupted.

There is something terribly wrong with this world. And there is something terribly wrong with us.

The Bible tells us what it is. Sin.

We see the symptoms of sin in the suffering and death that surround us. We see its fruit in the evil that comes out of our own hearts and lives. And unless something is done about sin itself, neither the symptoms nor the fruit will ever finally disappear.

The story in the Gospel reading is a familiar one to most of us. Some people bring a paralyzed man to Jesus. And, when they get him to Jesus, Jesus says, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus has not overlooked the man’s paralysis. He knows perfectly well why they brought him there. He also knows that the paralysis is only a symptom. The real problem goes much deeper.

Jesus is not ignoring the man’s suffering. He is not saying, “I know what you want, but here is something different. I promise, it’s better.” He is going to the very heart of the problem. He’s addressing the sin that has brought all this suffering and death into the world.

And so He says to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”

You are not suffering in the same way that poor man did. But you know, first hand, that there is something wrong in the world. You carry that burden every day. You feel its weight in so many ways.

Take heart, my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Take heart: Your sins are forgiven.

That was the point of Jesus telling the paralytic to get up and walk. It’s easy to forget that, with each of these miracles, the healing of the sick, sight given to the blind, even the raising of the dead, each and every one of those people would go on, eventually, to die. The paralyzed man who stood up and walked on that particular day would, one day, be laid into a tomb.

The point was always to demonstrate who Jesus was. The point was always to establish what He had come to do. He actually makes it explicit on this occasion: “That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins… I say to you, ‘Rise.’”

All of the things that I listed a moment ago are still there. You still suffer. You still get sick. You still bury people you love. You still experience the cruelty and selfishness of others. And you still see the fruits of sin in your own life. It’s all still there. You deal with it every day.

You are still living in a world where sin’s symptoms and fruits have not yet disappeared. But Jesus Christ has dealt with the sin that lies behind them all.

He took upon Himself all the sin that has corrupted God’s good creation. All the evil that has come out of your own hearts and lives. All the cruelty and injustice that human beings have inflicted upon one another. He bore it all in His own body on the cross. He suffered. He died. He made atonement for our sins.

And then, on the third day, He got up and walked out of His tomb.

His resurrection is the assurance that His sacrifice has accomplished what He came to accomplish. The root cause of all of the symptoms and fruits of sin in your life has been dealt with. Sin has been atoned for. Death has been defeated. The symptoms may still afflict you. Its fruits may still trouble you. But neither sin nor death will have the last word.

So that you might know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, I proclaim to you: Alleluia. Christ is risen!

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

My friends, I say to you: “Rise.” Rise and walk in that new life.

Because that is what Jesus Christ has given you. You have been baptized into His death and resurrection. “You were buried with Him, through baptism, into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, [you] too might walk in newness of life.” You have died with Christ. And you have risen with Christ. You are a new creation.

Yes, you still experience the symptoms of sin that we’ve been talking about this morning. You still get sick. You still suffer. You still carry burdens that you cannot simply put down. And you live in hope, even in the midst of those troubles. You care for those who are sick, knowing that sickness will never have the last word. You comfort those who mourn, knowing that death has been defeated. You bear one another’s burdens, knowing that the suffering of this present time is not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. And even when your own life is filled with sorrow, you continue to love and serve the people God has placed around you. Because Christ is risen. Your sins are forgiven. And you, too, will rise.

And the fruits of sin? They do not govern your life anymore, either. St. Paul tells us in today’s Epistle to put off the old self and put on the new, “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” The anger, the bitterness, the selfishness, the dishonesty—those belong to the old life. They are not who you are in Christ. You have been set free to live differently. To speak the truth. To love your neighbor. To forgive as you have been forgiven. To answer cruelty with kindness rather than more cruelty.

Other people will continue to sin against you. You cannot make someone repent. You cannot force someone to love you or restore a relationship that has been broken. And sometimes, even when you have done everything you can, the hurt remains. But you can live as the person Christ has made you. You can refuse to return evil for evil. You can pray for those who have hurt you. You can continue to walk in the good works that God has prepared for you, even when the path is difficult.

And one day, you won’t have to walk through those troubles anymore. Because the One who told the paralytic to rise, the One who Himself rose from the dead, will speak that word again. And on that day, all who are in their graves will hear His voice. “Rise.”

And you will. The sickness will be gone. The suffering will be over. Broken relationships will be healed. There will be no more anger, no more bitterness, no more hearts hardened against one another. Death will be no more. Everything that sin has corrupted will be made new. The new life that Christ has already given you in Baptism will be yours in all its fullness, forever.

Until then, take heart, brothers and sisters in Christ. Your sins are forgiven. Christ is risen from the dead. And you have been raised with Him.

So rise, and walk in that new life. Amen.