When friendship begins !

11.04.2021

Sunday April 11, 2021

“A cripple was brought to him, carried by four men.” Mark 2. 3

We would like to know a little more about the life of the paralyzed person that four stretcher-bearer friends bring to Jesus. His age, the origin of his disability, his life before, his life after the miracle of healing... Anyone who is sick, disabled, limited in his body, is a prisoner of his illness. She no longer lives at home as a dysfunction has set in and exiles her on her own. The sufferer is then struggling with a part of himself that a virus, a rebel cell or a deficient limb torments. The paralyzed person of the Gospel is like all those whose bodies have become a kind of stranger, even an enemy. Not only has this stranger entered without permission, but he is doing violence to him. A paraplegic explained to a pastor who came to visit him : “There is an intruder in my house and he can damage me. And I can't run away, I can't leave the place or order him to leave !” If the misfortune of the paralyzed man of whom Marc speaks is great, he nevertheless has an incredible chance : he has friends. Friends who did not run away from their misfortune, who did not hide in fear or excuse for not knowing what to say, what to do in the face of disability. Four friends who will save him by transporting him to the Savior. It is possible that, in your entourage, there is a suffering person, inhabited by a stranger who abuses him. You wonder what you can do when medicine seems helpless. You are afraid of not finding the words or actions that will make sense. Be a friend ; stay friends. Friends of the crippled persevered because they knew Jesus' teaching was rich and good to hear. No doubt they were not thinking of the miracle since Jesus had not yet operated (or so little !). For them, allowing the suffering to know Jesus was already a beautiful mission. Their friendship was precious and sufficient for the life of the cripple to change completely, and for all eternity !

Source (His Word for Today)