Title: A Roofer’s Nightmare Text: Mark 2:1-12 Date: February 22, 2015 Hope United Church (PCUSA) By Rev. Dr. James R. Berger


Let’s try an example of thinking outside the box, in the popular jargon. You’re driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night. You pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus:


1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. Your best friend who once saved your life.
3. The perfect woman/man you have been dreaming about all your life.

There can only be one passenger in your car, and you can’t return to the bus stop once you have left it. Which one would you choose to offer a ride?

Think about this carefully. This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once used on an employment questionnaire.

You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first; or you could take your best friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream lover again.

The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. What did he say?

He said, “I would give the car keys to my old friend and let him take the old lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams.”

Did any of you think of that? It is a good example of looking at the larger picture, instead of just the issue in front of your face. The four friends in today’s gospel account were able to see that bigger picture, which is why they took the drastic action they did.

They learned that a healer named Jesus was in the town of Capernaum, so they put a paralyzed friend on a mat and carried him to Jesus’ house. When they arrived, however, they found that the house was packed, and the crowd was spilling out into the street. There was simply no way that they could elbow their way inside, especially with the human load they were carrying.

Since they couldn’t go straight ahead, they created a nightmare for the local roofer…and amazed the crowd with their intensity. Climbing to the roof of the house, they punched a hole through the roof and lowered the paralyzed man down on his mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he proclaimed to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Then he said to the man, “Stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” And he stood up, picked up his mat and walked out through the front door, amazing everyone in the house.

God whispered in the souls of those four friends and spoke to their hearts. He inspired them to seek out Jesus, using whatever means necessary, and to trust him to heal their paralyzed friend. When the foursome dug through the roof, Jesus looked up at their dusty faces and saw their faith shining through.

Would he see the same in us?

The four friends demonstrated authentic love. This is the kind of love that:

Sees the need
Carries the burden
Finds a way
Works a miracle


If you were to place yourself at that house on that day, which role would you be playing? Would you be one of the people listening to Jesus’ teaching? Would you have been one of the religious leaders, offended by his radical words? Would you have been one of the disciples? Or would you have been one of the four friends who were able to think outside-of-the-house, to find an unconventional, unorthodox and somewhat deconstructive, but stunningly successful, way to get the man in to see Jesus?

The first thing they did was to see his need. Because they understood his need, they could begin the healing process. Our salvation begins when we recognize that we need God’s forgiveness for our sins. Your ministry to another person begins when you perceive where their need is.

A few years ago a young man went to his physician for a minor procedure. As he concluded his treatment the doctor said, “Anything else bothering you? Any other problems?” It was a routine question. The young man thought and said, “Yeah. I’ve been really thirsty lately, and no matter how much I drink I can’t seem to get enough.” The doctor was immediately all ears, asking other questions, and very quickly concluded that his patient was in the beginning stages of diabetes. The young man wrote an article about the lifestyle changes he had to make, and how he experienced God’s guidance and grace in the midst of it. It happened because the physician perceived his need.

How carefully do you listen to the people in your life? Do you see the needs, hear the pain, address the hurt with the words of life? Often the road to spiritual healing begins when you see and hear that need in another person, and guide them to the freeing love of God.

The second thing the four friends did was to carry the burden. That may be a heavy, physical load. It may be carrying the problems and pain of someone you love, to help them through a rough time. But we do it together.

St. Paul says in Galatians 6:2, “Carry one another’s burden and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” God does not intend for us to work alone as Christians. Quite the contrary.

The church has an ancient doctrine which says that only the whole church can hold the whole faith all of the time. No one piece believes everything all of the time. That means that when you are weak in your faith, or when you are suffering, the rest of us in the church will believe for you. We will be your support. And the time will come when one of us will be the one who needs support, and you will be there for us. It takes the whole church working together, and believing together, to be the body of Christ.

Those four guys hauled their friend up the outside stairs, hitched up their skirts, punched a hole through the adobe-type roof, no doubt dropping chunks on the heads of the disconcerted and disrupted down below, digging with their hands until the breach was gaping enough to hand the man down to other hands below to lay the paralytic man on his mat at the feet of Jesus.

That's some trouble to go to for the sake of a friend. But they were determined to find a way to get him to Jesus. In the process they created a roofer’s nightmare. That’s the price they were willing to pay.

One moment. One simple act of kindness -- abetted by creativity and sweat -- brought a man to Christ, changed his life, and made everybody who was there that day say, "We've never seen anything like this!"

How will you find a way to bring someone to meet Jesus? Your friend may express to you their spiritual longing. You can invite them to the Bible study or to church as a way to explore that longing. Make the way clear for them to encounter God’s word and God’s healing grace. Love finds a way, even if it is not the ordinary path.

We work the miracle when we are willing to feel the pain of our neighbors. When we become vulnerable enough to share their troubles and feel their hurts, and then take actions that show that we love our neighbors every bit as much as we love ourselves. Our love is not just a warm and wonderful feeling. The love that transforms is revealed in concrete actions if it is going to reflect our Christian faith.

For if “a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food,” observes the letter of James, “and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:15-17).

Faith without works is dead, says James, and that’s why the foursome in Capernaum had to punch through the roof to get their paralyzed friend to the healer. It was only when there was dust on their faces and dirt under their fingernails that Jesus looked up and saw their faith.

God whispers in your soul and speaks to your heart. Tragically, most of us are moving too fast and making too much noise to hear the gentle voice of God. Our windows are rolled up, our A/C is blowing, our CD players are cranked, our engines are roaring, and we have little chance of hearing the whisper.

So what are you going to do to make your faith visible? Maybe you’ll come to assist with the Thursday workers this week, caring for the church property. That’s active faith. Maybe you’ll take dinner to a member who’s recovering from surgery or chemo. That’s visible faith. You can assist with sorting clothing for Mision Peniel, or go on March 20 to serve meals to the workers. That’s faith in action. An individual serves as a Deacon and acts as a caring presence in the life of someone who is feeling alienated from friends and from God. That’s faith you can see.

The key is to listen for God’s direction, and then act. To get up, get moving, get lifting, get carrying, get climbing and get digging ... whenever you hear the gentle voice of God calling you to do some work on behalf of others. Sure, there may be some barriers that separate you from Jesus, and from people around you. But like the fearless foursome of Capernaum, you can break through them.

When you place the needs of the world in front of Jesus, amazing things can happen. The paralyzed can be healed. The hungry can be fed. The oppressed can be freed. The poor can be helped. Peace can break out, justice can be done, and hope can replace even the most desolate forms of despair.

It all starts with hearing the voice of God, and taking action. Granted, some might say you are creating a roofer’s nightmare. But you know that you are opening the door to a miracle.