From Paralysis to a New Life!



Poole Bay Methodist Circuit worship

Sunday 4th October 2020

From Paralysis to a New Life! - Led by Deacon Suzie Viana

▪ Welcome

Good day to you all listening or reading this service, this is Deacon Suzie here. I welcome you with the words of this lovely poem written by members of the Iona Community:

If you come

in certainty or confusion

in anger or in anguish

THIS TIME IS FOR US

If you come

in silent suffering or hidden sorrow

in pain or promise

THIS TIME IS FOR US

If you come

for your own or another’s needs

for a private wound or the wound of the world

THIS TIME IS FOR US

If you come

and do not know why,

to be here is enough

THIS TIME IS FOR US ALL

Come now, Christ of the forgiving warmth

Come now, Christ of the yearning tears

Come now, Christ of the transforming touch

THIS TIME IS FOR YOU

▪ Hymn 496 StF God beyond our dreams

We continue in this spirit of worship and prayer with the help of this beautiful hymn from Singing the Faith, probably not well known, but the words are amazing. I offer you a couple of verses, please follow the link to hear the whole song.



1. God, beyond our dreams, you have stirred in us a memory,

you have placed your powerful Spirit in the hearts of humankind.

All around us, we have known you;

all creation lives to hold you,

In our living and our dying

we are bringing you to birth.

2. God, beyond all names, you have made us in your image,

we are like you, we reflect you, we are woman, we are man.

3. God, beyond all words, all creation tells your story,

you have shaken with our laughter, you have trembled with our tears.

4. God, beyond all time, you are labouring within us;

we are moving, we are changing, in your spirit ever new.

5. God of tender care, you have cradled us in goodness,

you have mothered us in wholeness, you have loved us into birth.

Bernadette Farrell

▪ A Prayer of confession

Lord, you have formed us for yourself

so that we may proclaim your praise,

but we are forgetful.

You demolish barriers,

and open up amazing new horizons so that we may step out in faith,

but we are hesitant.

You are always creating infinitely fresh possibilities,

but we are nervous, harking back to how things used to be, suspicious of change.

You establish safe routes through impenetrable wilderness,

but we are not adventurous enough to set out.

You refresh parched wasteland with springs of water,

but we are reluctant to get our feet wet.

Forgive us our neglect, our forgetful worship.

Forgive us for trying to lock you up in church and not acknowledge you in our homes, community, foodbanks, schools, hospitals and workplaces.

Forgive us our lack of vision, our lack of courage.

Create in us a new heart, O God,

and fill us with your irrepressible Spirit.

Trusting in your mercy and forgiveness we pray, Amen.

▪ Gospel Reading – Mark 2:1-12

I welcome Naomi, who has just started her training to be a Worship Leader in our Circuit, to read this passage for us.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

▪ Reflection

I would like to invite you to try two exercises with this story… first, let’s imagine the scene. I know this is not easy for everybody, but can you try and picture yourself in the middle of what’s happening?

Jesus returns from a preaching tour and is now ‘at home’. It is not clear if he has his own house or lives with Peter, Andrew, and their families, but I go with the last one, it’s difficult to imagine Jesus keeping a house from which he would be absent most of the time.

So, close your eyes if you prefer… and there you are, in this small village…

▪ You see the house and how it is packed inside and outside…

▪ You actually make your way in, squeezing here and there, and you find a spot on the floor.

▪ Try and see Jesus preaching to this crowd, it’s not easy, but if you look over people’s heads and shoulders, you can see him.

▪ There’s a bit of noise; Jesus’s voice is gentle but loud enough that you can hear.

▪ I wonder what he is saying to you and the others…

▪ Suddenly, straw begins to fall around you and it is coming from the ceiling!

▪ Everyone is now a bit concerned, and you can see some people removing the roof… one board at a time, a shovel of dirt and straw being thrown over to the side and some falling on your head!

▪ What on earth is this? You direct your look to the people who live in that house… they look shocked, upset, someone is destroying their roof! I am sure they hoped there would be no rain that night…

▪ Then, you see a man coming down with the help of ropes and a mat. His friends, up in the roof, are trying to hold him steady.

▪ You notice that he is a paralysed man, and that being the centre of attention in this crowd is as uncomfortable for him as this bumpy ride.

▪ Jesus, like you and everyone else, is impressed by their faith, courage, and effort: after all, getting a paralyzed man up the ladder and down through the roof cannot be easy!

▪ ‘Son, your sins are forgiven’, you hear Jesus saying.

▪ Oh dear… that causes a bit of stir… some people are not happy at all! You look at the teachers of the law, they are furious! ‘Who does he think he is to say things like that’?

▪ You notice how Jesus’s body language shows authority and calmness when he says to the man, ‘get up, take your mat and go home’.

▪ You feel the overwhelming emotion of that moment… the man walks past you! And you take your time to look up to the roof, those faithful friends are celebrating!

▪ The man who was healed? Oh, he’s not far… you see him walking, but not too fast, he is learning everything again. It’s exciting, but also a bit daunting doing things for the first time.

I hope this first exercise has helped us to enter the story and get a glimpse of this amazing miracle. Now, for the second exercise, we are going to try something different…

What if we imagine instead of the paralyzed man being taken to Jesus, it is a paralysed church… a church that cannot get up and work or at least in the same ways it used to do before.

Let’s rethink this story that way…

▪ Some people decide to take the paralysed church to Jesus… but look, the needs around Jesus are immense, God’s Son is busy tending to those in need. And yet, together, they find a way to take the church to Jesus, via a different root…

▪ It is not easy… they need to work as a team, they cannot carry the church on their own, it’s heavy! But working together they are determined to take this paralysed church to God… There are barriers, but they will not give up, even if they need to make an entrance through the roof! The church needs healing and they love it so much they will do whatever they can to lower it to where Jesus is…

▪ To lower it down… not to raise it up… remember: Jesus is down there, busy amongst those who need him the most.

I wonder where you are in this story…

- Are you part of the team carrying the church, lowering it down to Jesus?

- Are you a part of this paralysed church? An arm, a leg, hands (after all, we’re the body of Christ)

- Are you down there blocking the door? Fighting your own way to be with Jesus, never mind the Church?

- What does the house represent in this analogy? Where would Jesus be in your community?

- What does the roof mean? What are the barriers that separate a paralysed church from Jesus?

- Are you the one saying: this hole is too small, we need a bigger one, let’s dig, this is not safe, we need more cord, this is too messy! (with your health & safety hat)

▪ And then when the paralysed church is down there with Jesus, he says… ‘wow, you’ve got faith my friends! Church, your sins are forgiven!’

▪ Perhaps we will look intrigued as those were not the words we expected to hear… why would our church need forgiveness? Remember… nothing new happens without forgiveness! Forgiveness implies change, doing things in a different way.

Jesus will then say, ‘get up, you, paralysed church and walk, move, start afresh… now that your sins are forgiven you are ready for a new life!’

▪ And then what? Some of us may think that now that the church is sorted all be well! Hmmm… it’s not that simple. The paralysed man probably had to re-learn everything, get used to new legs and start slowly, right foot, left foot, wobbly, a bit of a messy start trying to adapt to a new way of living, but walking, he was walking, and so is the church! We are back walking… slowly… very differently…. And I’m not only talking about re-opening for prayers or Sunday worship… I’m also referring to the repurposing of our buildings for mission, a foodbank-church, a homeless-daycentre church; or the hybrid church that is now taking place (recorded services, Zoom services, printed services, small groups, etc.), or the church without walls in our gardens, parks and seaside. These are the first steps of a new way of being church, but it’s not a paralysed church! Thank God for that!

So, my friends, what can we learn from this story?

- First, we learn from those friends, about their determination, persistence, and creativity. They were not willing to wait around, they came to place their friend before the healer that day, not later in the week. The same way, we need to carry the church TOGETHER, now, to where Jesus is: it involves commitment, hard work, trying different ways, overcoming barriers, and making a mess! I hope and pray that we, Poole Bay Circuit, are up for the task.

- Second, we learn that there can be no healing without some kind of ‘going down’ to meet the healer. This pattern is clear in the saving ways of Jesus: going down into the water, as in the healing pool story; or falling to the ground, down to earth; even more striking is the descent of Jesus himself, coming down to earth from heaven, went down into Jordan’s waters in his baptism, he descended into the world of the dead before rising up in resurrected life. What would it mean for each one of our congregations to be lowered to where Jesus is? Are we too aloof in our little club mentalities? Are we disconnected from the community where Jesus makes his home? Are we too preoccupied with our positions of power, unable to let go and be vulnerable and not in control?

- And finally, we learn that forgiveness is the first step towards wholeness and healing. Why is Jesus speaking of forgiveness in this context? Was the root of this man’s problem in his soul rather than his body? Perhaps a psychosomatic condition, an inner trauma, depression, guilt? There is no point here in trying to speculate. (And I don’t need to remind us that Jesus has clearly overturned the belief that suffering is punishment from God elsewhere in the Bible). But setting this man free from a sense of guilt, from the sickness of his soul, was Jesus’s first approach in setting him free from his bodily malfunction. What could be the root of paralysis for our church? Are we paralysed by the power of the past? (stuck in the so-called glorious days of Methodism where we did things this way or that way). Or, are we paralysed by the prospect of such a different future ahead of us? What if our spirituality is sick? If so, Jesus is saying to us ‘you cannot cure the church by giving it a new coat of paint, a thorough COVID cleaning, or just by reopening it for worship, for our cafes and groups – you have to get at the souls of its people! So, let’s invest in spiritual practices and conversations about God, life and faith. Jesus’s forgiveness and healing will be ours and we will walk again into a new way of being church. And I pray that we will have the courage and humility to go down where Jesus is and receive it. Amen!

▪ Prayers of intercession

This is the moment to bring to Jesus all sorts of paralyses that affect God’s people, including us. Naomi will lead us in our prayers of Intercession.

Let us pray:

We pray for people, near and far from us, who are paralysed by poverty and inequality. Bless them with supportive friends and organisations that will fight alongside them to overcome barriers and gain access to opportunities.

We pray for people who are paralysed by illnesses of the body, visible ones such as users of wheelchair and other walking aids, those with visual/hearing impairment, etc. as well as the more invisible ones, people affected by epilepsy, dyslexia, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, etc. Bless them with a church and community who work hard to be welcoming and inclusive of them all.

We pray for people who are paralysed by illnesses of the mind: depression, anxiety, and any other psychiatric condition – bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. Bless them with a church and community who are willing to embrace and not stigmatise.

We bring to Jesus our friends and families paralysed by terminal illnesses, or bedridden by age or serious conditions. Bless them with the knowledge of the promise of Jesus, who is preparing a place for them, and the hope of a healed body free from pain and suffering. We also pray for those paralysed by grief, mourning the loss of loved ones. May your Spirit comfort them and help them to carry on living and loving.

We bring to Jesus our friends paralysed by the demands of caregiving. Those who have depleted themselves emotionally, financially, spiritually, and physically. We thank you for these women and men who demonstrate such sacrificial love. Bless them with a church and community who offers support and respite.

Jesus, we bring you our friends paralyzed by shame, guilt and failure. Let them know that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Without this knowledge they won’t be able to repent, heal, and get their eyes off themselves.

Jesus, we bring you our friends paralyzed by old wounds, still raw with pain and grief. For our friends who have suffered various degrees of abuse and trauma, we ask your healing power and hope. And give us wisdom about how to love and be patient with them.

Jesus, we bring you the people paralyzed by various obsessions and addictions. Not only chemical and drug abuse, but also the eating disorders, self-righteousness and legalism, greed, gossip, obsession with physical beauty, and so many other conditions. Bless them with a church and community who offer safe places to meet and professional help to accompany them in their recovery.

Finally, we pray for ourselves. Sometimes we don’t notice the paralyses within us… we get used to being stuck, physically, mentally and emotionally, in relationships and situations of oppression. We pray for those carrying us and making way through the roof, the barriers of life, so that we can find healing and hope.

We pray trusting that you hear us, in the name of Jesus who taught us how to pray…

▪ The Lord’s prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

▪ Hymn ‘May the peace of God’

We will finish this time together by singing this beautiful blessing with the Winton Band:

May the peace of God our heavenly Father,

and the grace of Christ the risen Son,

and the fellowship of God the Spirit

keep our minds and hearts within his love. Amen



Have a blessed week ahead, hold on to hope and keep safe!

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