Friday, January 13, 2023
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
Resting in the promises
His works were accomplished at the foundation of the world. And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.
On my desk a light brown monkey sits up against the wall and smiles at me. His arms reach around my neck sometimes, sometimes they reach out to the phone or iPad when I’m talking with someone. Often my light brown smiling monkey speaks.
“It’s so good to see you!”
“How have things been going for you this week?”
“Dave is looking forward to talking with you!”
I appreciate my monkey. He keeps me company. He’s been with us for a long time. Many years ago he played an important part in the class Margaret and I taught to couples on communication. Margaret needed me to take on one of her problems – she had a “monkey on her back.” Perhaps she wanted me to call someone for her, because, as she put it, “You’re so good on those phone calls. People do what you ask, and they don’t do that for me.” She and the monkey cuddled me and kissed on me, cuddled and kissed.
She tried over and over to get the monkey’s arms around my neck. She tried to get her monkey onto my back. Sometimes I was able to resist, but not often. She tied the monkey on my neck, it sat there grinning, and she turned toward our class, grinning herself as wide as could be.
Of the games people play, this is one of the clearest. It’s the manipulation that makes it a psychological game. Simple requests are different. But if I don’t get my way then I might become more pushy, or more sly. The monkey is scratching away on my back, eating a banana, and screaming what sound like monkey obscenities right into my ear. I’m going crazy. Surely I have to do something!
Some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?”
Who indeed, Jesus thinks. It won’t be long till these wise guys start to speak. So he jumped their gun and spoke first.
Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier to say to this paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven?” Or to say, “Rise, pick up your mat and walk.”
The scribes want to confront Jesus, they want to trick him, they want to put their monkey on his back. He will not let them.
So you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, I say to this paralytic, “Rise, pick up your mat and go home.”
Well, you know the rest. This is a famous story, and it’s famous because the paralytic was no longer paralyzed. He stood, and he didn’t just walk. He jumped and hollered hallelujah and skipped on home.
And it’s also famous because Jesus showed how free he was to be God’s son. So the scribes were stuck with more monkeys than ever, scratching their backs, eating their bananas, and laughing … at them, I guess.
Everyone was astounded and glorified God. They said, “We have NEVER seen anything like this.”
(Hebrews 4, Psalm 78, Luke 7, Mark 2)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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