Grace and Peace Be Multiplied to you, Wentz’s,
Have you ever felt stuck? Or running on the proverbial hamster wheel of life? Mark chapter two describes a man who was sick with palsy. The term palsy was applied to several diseases during Jesus’ time. It was used to describe the condition of any person unable to command movement in an area of their body. By the description given, this man could not command action that would enable him to walk. In this type of palsy, the muscles, tissues, blood vessels, bones, nerves, and every other physical attribute necessary for movement are present. However, the electrical impulses from the brain to command action are short-circuited. Like this man, we should be able to move from where we are. We should be over the last family misunderstanding and able to move on. We want to move on, but we are stuck. Many people want to change, don’t want to live like they are living but can’t seem to change. By their actions, they are saying, “I’m stuck in this condition.” Whether that condition is loneliness, despair, anxiety, or that life’s cup–in their eyes–is always half empty, the feeling is the same.
If we aren’t careful, we will become angry. We get upset and feel like everybody else is moving and free. We have all the physical, mental, and emotional attributes necessary for change and growth. We can still think, feel, and have talents, skills, opportunities, and possibilities. However, our inner spirit won’t respond to the command to move. As a result, stress turns into pressure, and pressure turns into rage, and constant rage creates a state of weariness. Our sense of pleasure becomes exhausted. When you and I are weary, nothing is exciting. Everything is bland. We become numb, unable to act or even believe in change. Every day seems like the day before. Have you ever experienced this? It doesn’t matter if you’re from the hood or the suburbs; if you are not liberated in your mind and encouraged in your heart, you will feel like you are in a jail cell. Stress and anger can and will infect nearly every person. A person can get stuck in childhood memories. They can get stuck in teenage issues. They can get stuck in church, hurt, and abused. They can get stuck in an adult problem.
Whatever palsied state you or someone connected to your heart finds themselves in today, Jesus is standing ready with a spiritual tow truck, backhoe, and sand to help us get unstuck.
Mark 2: 1-3
When [Jesus] returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door, and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.