Scripture Reference: Mark 2:1-12
The service was in progress. The house was full just the way most ministers like it. The guest speaker was Jesus Himself who stood to His feet and started His sermon. No sooner had He made the first point, however, when everyone’s attention was riveted to the ceiling as the noise of footsteps made it seem as if the roof itself would fall on them. Indeed, to their astonishment, a portion of the roof was removed, and as the people below rubbed their eyes of the dusty debris and plucked the fallen pieces of plaster from their hair, they heard one of the nameless intruders say, “Yep, here He is! Let’s lower the stretcher right here!”
The crowd was stunned. In silence, they watched as four men lowered a fifth man to the feet of Jesus. “Son, your sins are forgiven you. Arise, take up your bed and walk.” These words were among the things Jesus said to the helpless man. Within moments, the paralyzed man stood to his feet, folded his pallet, and walked out of the crowded house. The astonished worshipers ended their stunned silence by saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
I can truly understand their astonishment. There are times I come to worship and long for something out of the ordinary to happen. If I’m truly honest with you, at times, my life, including my worship, all too frequently becomes mundane and predictable.
I am reminded of the story told of a little boy who went to live with his grandmother. She was a very devout Christian whose loyalty to her church prohibited her from ever missing a service.
One day the circus came to their community. That would not have been so unusual except that, in this case, the circus was to perform only once, and the performance was to take place during prayer meeting on Wednesday night.
“May I go to the circus?” pleaded the her grandson.
“Of course not!” replied Grandma. “You know that we always go to prayer meeting on Wednesday night.”
“I know, Grandma,” he continued. “But there’s only one performance. May I go just this once? Please? Please?”
Against her better wishes, she consented. “Just this once, but never again!” she instructed.
Later that evening when the boy had returned from the circus and Grandma had returned from church, she asked him, “Well, how did it go?”
He thought for a moment and then confessed, “Well, Grandma, if you ever go to the circus once, you’ll never want to go back to prayer meeting on Wednesday night!”
Do you ever feel that way about worship? The story of the healing of the paralytic reminds us of how the routine of our life and worship may be interrupted and redeemed by Christ. Take a fresh look at this story with me. Who knows how your life may be “surprised by joy,” as C. S. Lewis once put it.
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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