Miracles
Read time: 6 Minutes
The healing of the paralytic at Capernaum is one of the miracles of Jesus described in Matthew’s, Mark’s and Luke’s Gospels. In Luke, 5, 17-26 we read:
“Then some men appeared, carrying on a bed a paralyzed man, whom they were trying to bring in and lay down in front of Him. But as the crowd made it impossible to find a way for getting him in, they went up to the flat roof and lowered him and his stretcher down through the tiles into the middle of the gathering, in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, He said “My friend, your sins are forgiven you.” The scribes and the Pharisees began to think this over. “Who is this man talking blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But Jesus, aware of their thoughts, made them this reply, “What are these thoughts you have in your hearts? Which of these is easier: to say, “Your sins are forgiven you” or to say “Get up and walk?” But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – He said to the paralyzed man – “I order you: get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” And immediately before their very eyes he got up, picked up what he had been lying on and went home praising God.”
We are all familiar with this story, but I recently came across a poem that looks at this miracle from a different perspective. The poet is one of my favourites, Seamus Heaney, and is taken from his book Human Chain, written after he had suffered a stroke.
Instead of focusing on the man who was healed, this poem presents the miracle from the point of view of the man’s friends. Here is the poem:
MIRACLE
Not the one who takes up his bed and walks
But the ones who have known him all along
And carry him in –
Their shoulders numb, the ache and stoop deep-locked
In their backs, the stretcher handles
Slippery with sweat. And no let-up
Until he’s strapped on tight, made tiltable
And raised to the tiled roof, then lowered for healing.
Be mindful of them as they stand and wait
For the burn of the paid-out ropes to cool,
Their slight lightheadedness and incredulity
To pass, those ones who had known him all along.
Although a miracle has indeed taken place where the paralyzed man has been healed, this poem is about a different miracle, the miracle of the friendship, determination, love, faith and hope of his friends. They had watched their friend during his illness slowly deteriorate and become paralyzed. They were concerned about him and wanted to help him and make him feel better. They had heard about this man Jesus. They had heard that he could actually cure people who were sick, make blind people see, make the lame walk. They heard that he could even raise people from the dead. They decided that Jesus was their friend’s only hope. So they got together and made a plan to take him to Jesus. They put their friend on a stretcher and carried him to meet Jesus. When they eventually arrived at the house where Jesus was, the crowds were so big that they couldn’t get anywhere near Jesus, but they didn’t give up. They made another plan. They somehow climbed up onto the roof of the house, which could not have been easy, carrying a stretcher with their paralyzed friend lying on it. They must have had to remove some of the tiles from the roof, again not easy, in order to make a hole in the roof large enough for their friend’s stretcher to fit through. Then they carefully and slowly, using ropes, lowered their friend on the stretcher, right down into the house in front of Jesus.
Jesus recognized the faith of the friends: “When Jesus saw THEIR faith, he said “Friend your sins are forgiven”
Instead of focusing on the paralytic man’s healing, this poem focuses on the man’s carers, who looked after him, carried him, whose arms ached and sweated. According to the poem, the miracle is in the faithful, steady, caring actions of his friends: “Those who had known him all along”
This poem is a reminder to all of us, of the often unseen, unnoticed helpers, who quietly bear the physical and psychological burdens of caregiving, who through their loving service cause miracles to happen and are themselves miracles.*-+