2/6/14- No Excuses!

8Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

11But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

12So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

13The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

14Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” 15The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Thoughts; The religious authorities could not see the forest for the trees.  They were more concerned with the Law than the were the people the Law was meant to help.  Instead of asking, "Who healed you?"  They were concerned about who encouraged him to break the Sabbath.  A Day of Rest is a real blessing (one that we miss in our world).  But rest must also go arm in arm with love and help.
     Jesus did not say the man's faith healed him.  In fact, there appears to be little faith.  The healed man does go to the Temple, where he could not go before as a lame man. Jesus accused the man of sinning.  Too many commentators assume that Jesus was saying the man's past sins brought him his paralysis.  But the word is "stop sinning", implying the man was even then continuing to sin. The man could not find Jesus, and did not even know who he was. Perhaps Jesus knew the former paralytic would continue to look for Jesus to blame.  Perhaps his sin was [at first the thought, then the action of] "fingering" Jesus as the one who was to blame for his breaking the Sabbath.  The man could have just not picked up his mat and not have been healed.  Such blame endangered the one who healed the paralytic, and fomented anger toward Jesus (5:16.18).  It appears that this former paralytic was a continual excuse maker.  He excused his illness by saying he had no one to put him in the water.  He excused himself from breaking the Sabbath by blaming the one who told him to do so.   Many people are quick to avoid their own guilt and blame- blaming others, their circumstances, their DNA, even blaming God for their problems.  Jesus admonition to "stop sinning" is also an admonition to all of us who are slow to take responsibility and quick to grab hold of an excuse.  

Prayer: Lord, I cannot fool you.  You know my sin and it is ever before me.  A contrite heart you will not despise.  But my pride and excuse making will not bring about true healing of heart.  

3/17/12 No Excuses

25- 3/17- HDBG- 9,10, 11

Q. 9. Is not God unjust in requiring of man in his Law what he cannot do?

A. No, for God so created man that he could do it. But man, upon the instigation of the devil, by deliberate disobedience, has cheated himself and all his descendants out of these gifts.

Q. 10. Will God let man get by with such disobedience and defection?

A. Certainly not, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, both against our inborn sinfulness and our actual sins, and he will punish them according to his righteous judgment in time and in eternity, as he has declared: “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, and do them.”

Q. 11. But is not God also merciful?

A. God is indeed merciful and gracious, but he is also righteous. It is his righteousness which requires that sin committed against the supreme majesty of God be punished with extreme, that is, with eternal punishment of body and soul

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. (Romans 3:19,20)

Thoughts:  It is an appropriate thought for Lent: we cannot weasel our way out of sin.  No excuse, no rationalization, no salve to hide the symptoms of our mistakes will keep us from the consequences of sin.  God is more merciful than we deserve, but He cannot overlook an open affront to Him.  His justice is more merciful than mine.  I am quick to condemn others (but slow to condemn myself).  God has great patience and gives us opportunity after opportunity to respond to Him. 
   Today is St. Patrick's Day.  St. Patrick was very bold, and gave no excuses, nor did he allow others to excuse their evil or their beliefs. Patrick admitted his sin and weaknesses.  Yet, though he was humble, he was bold in sharing his faith- even with druids and kings who threatened and tried to kill him (some say as many as 120 times).  Patrick always cast himself on the mercy o fGod. 

Prayer: Lord, may I understand your great love and mercy, but also understand how I have wronged you.  Forgive me, not because of my good- or despite my bad- but because I know your Son has made payment for my sins.