Mark 2:1-12 (with poetic license)
For those of you unfortunate enough to not have Albanian exposure, here's a quick "glossary of names". Each of the names are typical Albanian names, but each has a special meaning. Alban="The Albanian", Shpresa="Hope", Kreshnik="Warrior", Gezim="Joy", Bekim="Blessing". I won't be any more obvious than that... :-)
Once upon a time there were 5 friends. They were born in the same town in the same year, grew up together, went to school together, played on football team together, got in trouble together. They were inseparable; you almost never saw one without the others. After they finished high school they found various honest jobs around town and soon one of them, Alban, fell in love with a young lady named Shpresa. Soon they were engaged and Alban was hard at work building another story on his parents’ home in preparation for the wedding. But then one day the unthinkable happened. Alban had been working alone all day painting and at one point fell off ladder nearly 2 meters and landed in a crumpled heap. At first he thought the air had been knocked out him and that was why he couldn’t move. But as the agonizing seconds stretched on with no return of strength to either his hands or his legs the terrible truth dawned on him. As he lay twisted on the floor he realized he was paralyzed and would never move on his own again. He could move his head, he could talk, but he could move nothing below his neck.
It was Kreshnik that found him about an hour later. Soon all 4 friends were gathered around in shock. Shpresa had come as well and she wailed her lament of grief as she wept over Alban’s insensate body. Neighbors and relatives came to visit and express their sympathy, but what could they do? Gradually over the weeks and months there were fewer and fewer visitors. Only Shpresa and the 4 friends kept coming.
Alban did all he could to convince them to leave him be. In particular he tried to get Shpresa to leave -- she adamantly refused, insisting that they were still going to get married. Her parents were horrified at the thought and even Alban’s parents tried to get her to forget the idea, but she would not be dissuaded. Alban wouldn’t even consider it. He passed into a black depression and even asked his friends to help him commit suicide at one point. Hopeless. Needy.
Something else was happening about this same time. Rumors were flying through the villages. A simple, uneducated man of questionable birth had started to teach some amazing ideas and crowds were flocking to him in a way nobody had ever seen before. Now if his teaching was all that was happening that would have been mildly interesting. But at the same time he started to teach he started to do miracles. Real, honest-to-goodness MIRACLES. Things that couldn’t be explained in any other way. He started at a wedding where he turned several huge jars of water into wine -- who wouldn’t love a miracle worker who makes wine from water?! But that was just the beginning. If the rumors were to be believed he was (healing blind people, feeding thousands, healing lepers, walking on water, some even said raising dead people back to life).
At first Alban’s friends tried to keep the rumors from him. After all, they were just rumors and what’s the point of giving him hope when there is no hope. But they couldn’t keep him from hearing and eventually they began to discuss it -- might there be a possibility?! They would stay up late into the night discussing the possibilities.
Alban’s eyes changed from a dead, hopeless, vacant stare into a bright and almost feverish animation. Hope bloomed in his breast and began to infect his friends and his entire household. As rumor about Jesus piled on rumor and report followed report a vague doubting hope was transformed into an aching, throbbing obsession and finally into a pulsating belief that would not be denied. Alban was determined that as soon as Jesus came within walking distance he must find a way to see him. The other friends tried to keep his expectations realistic, but eventually his certainty overcame their protestations and all 5 of them began to make plans. They had no horse or cart, but they put together a harness they could put under Alban’s bed with a handle at each corner. They even practiced attaching it and carrying him out the door so they knew when the time came they would be able to start quickly when they found out where Jesus really was. They calculated that with the 4 of them carrying the bed they would be able to go as far as an hour in any direction without rest. Their plans were ready -- there was nothing else they could do but wait.
Then one day Bekim, the youngest of the 5 friends, came running down the road and rudely pushed through the gate without even knocking. He was already shouting before anyone came to the door. He had news that couldn’t wait.
Jesusi had come to their village. The very man that had confounded the Pharisees, taught of freedom and love and turned the religious community on their ear … most importantly, the man who had healed men and women and children who could never have been healed otherwise … that man, Jesusi, had come to their village. Bekim had just come from the high school where he had heard the man speak with his own ears. No miracles had been done yet, but HE WAS RIGHT THERE, minutes away. If there was ever a chance for Alban, this was it.
He was in need and there was only one way for that need to be fulfilled. He could hardly breathe for the excitement that seemed to be spilling out of him. His friends lashed the harness around his bed and had him out on the road in minutes. Having Jesus come all the way to their village was a huge help to their plans -- the high school was just 15 minutes down the road.
Within minutes the friends were bathed in sweat as they trotted along as quickly as they could go. There was a steady stream of people heading in the same direction -- it seemed like everyone in the whole country had heard that Jesus was at their high school.
Alban was being bounced around like popcorn in a hot kettle, but he had no word of complaint. If they dragged him to the high school by his ankles he would not have complained. THIS was his chance. Everything in life had turned against him in that slip of a foot on the ladder. Before he had been a strong young man, independent, the one others came to when they needed help. Now for the last 18 months he could do NOTHING for himself. He couldn’t even go to the toilet by himself -- what utter degradation, what utter NEED. As these thoughts raced through his mind he squeezed his eyes shut to shut off the flow of tears as his whole body seemed to reach out to the man at the end of the road. Could he? Would he? Would today be the end of his suffering? Or would it be the end of his hope?!
And so Alban bounced as his friends wheezed and staggered on. Unfortunately everyone else in the whole country didn’t have a bed to carry and try though they might everyone was passing them. The rumors had flown far and wide and everyone was desperate for a glimpse of Jesus. At first it was just the children who were dashing ahead, but as the 4 friends got tired even the middle aged adults were edging past them in the road and hurrying ahead.
Finally they arrived. But the high school had never looked like this before. Crowds were crammed into every open space, crushed near every window. Children were held on shoulders to try to get a glimpse of what was going on. Pushing, shoving, crowding. A child who arrived late could worm his way forward into the courtyard and get within earshot, but there wasn’t room for even a cat inside the door of the high school itself.
Kreshnik tried to lead them forward, pushing people out of the way, but they soon saw that it was hopeless. There was no way they were going to get in that building. And if they couldn’t get inside then Jesus would never see Alban. If Jesus never saw Alban then he would be helpless on that bed for the rest of his life. No work, no marriage, no children, no hope.
NO! Alban was not going to let this happen. As he cast his eyes around desperately he caught sight of a broken ladder next to the wall. His imagination flew ahead of his eyes, but as he turned his eyes upward he saw that there was still a hope. The room in which Jesus was teaching had only 1 story, and the roof was a terrac that was old and broken in places. Quickly he shouted to his friends to put him down and gather around as he hurriedly explained the plan that was forming as he spoke. His friends were a bit shocked, but as they looked at the building they realized it was the only plan that still left Alban with a shred of hope.
Bekim’s father worked in construction and lived just a few doors down from the high school. He ran to his home to grab any tools he could gather and bring back. Kreshnik pulled the ladder out and set it up against the back of the building, roughly re-attaching some of the broken rungs and then climbing up gingerly to make sure it would hold his weight. Meanwhile the other 2 quickly untied and retied the harness to lengthen the handles at each corner. By the time Bekim arrived back with a bag of tools the other friends were pulling Alban up the side of the building. He banged painfully against the bricks a few times, but it never crossed his mind to give up -- he just shouted encouragement to them as well as he could.
Then they were all on top of the roof. A quick glance showed them that the side of the room where the speakers always stood was under a part of the roof that was particularly decrepit. Alban urged them on. With a last doubtful glance at the others Bekim grabbed a hammer and started attacking the roof. The other friends pulled out other tools and in a moment all 4 of them were tearing and ripping and chiseling and banging. Within minutes they had a small hole as they pulled out a brick that opened into the room below. Kreshnik put his eye to the hole and saw that they were just a meter or so from where Jesus was standing. Now they had to move more slowly because a falling stone from the ceiling could very easily kill someone below. But no matter how carefully they progressed, they were still in a hurry and small stones and dust began to pour into the room below, raining down on the crowd below. The shouts of protest from inside the room were soon carried out the door and suddenly the 5 men were the target for abuse and shouting from their neighbors -- what were they doing destroying the roof over the main salla in the high school?! Were they crazy?!
But they couldn’t stop! No matter what anyone said, they had to get Alban to Jesus. This was his only hope.
Finally the hole was big enough for Alban’s thin, emaciated form to fit through. They checked to make sure he was still secured in his bed-harness and then carefully lowered him down. At one point the ropes got tangled, but by now the people below realized what was happening and reached up eagerly to help him.
Finally Alban had achieved his goal. He was laid out, somewhat unceremoniously but still … he was there. Jesus was standing there and Alban was lying on the floor at his feet. The crowd had been restless before but now as Jesus looked down kindly at Alban they were completely quiet. One man at the door was trying to explain to those outside what had happened, but the people around him shushed him so they could hear what Jesus was going to say... Silence descended. The atmosphere of expectation was electric.
Before there were rumors of miracles. Most people had their doubts -- probably it was just exaggeration or maybe just a magician’s tricks (numer shpejtesie). But everyone in this room and the hundreds of people who were gathered around the building all knew Alban. They had all grieved with him and his family when his young body with all his hope had been shattered. If Jesus could do something for this young man then it would be no rumor and no trick. What would he do? What would he say?
Jesus looked around at the crowd one more time as if wondering whether he should go on with what he had been saying. But it was obvious that nobody would be listening at this point. This didn’t seem to annoy Jesus, though -- he just smiled over at Alban and then knelt down beside him and put his hand on Alban’s shoulder.
Just a hand on his shoulder, but somehow Alban was comforted beyond words. So many people had come to visit him soon after his accident, but so few had reached out to touch him. It was as if they were afraid his paralysis was somehow infectious. They came to visit because they had been friends, but they didn’t come too close and almost nobody would touch him. It was a wordless and unintentional form of rejection, but at times it had frozen Alban’s soul more effectively than the paralysis that gripped his body. Now Jesus reached out and gripped his shoulder in a warm, strong grip. And what had started as a small smile on Jesus’s face seemed to grow until his whole face was lit up with an amazing, sublime joy. He opened his mouth and took a breath to speak:
“Son, your sins are forgiven.”
“Ummm... That wasn’t exactly what I expected. Sins forgiven?! Why are we talking about this religious stuff when my real problem is the fact that ... Hello! I can’t move my arms or legs! And anyway, what did I ever do to you that you need to forgive me?! This is the first time I’ve ever met you -- you couldn’t be forgiving me for something I’ve done to you. And the way you said it -- it sounds like you’re … well, it sounds like you were speaking as if you were God or something!” He quickly glanced up at some of the people standing nearby and realized that his religion teacher from the high school was standing there with several other teachers of the law. With a sinking feeling he realized that Jesus’s statement that his sins were forgiven were about to become the topic of a raging debate between Jesus and these teachers of the law. They would certainly be offended and object that Jesus was claiming the authority of God, saying in effect that he was God himself. And in the midst of that raging debate would he, Alban, be forgotten in the process?! After everything they had planned, all they had sacrificed, was it all going to be lost because of some religious argument?! But it had already gone beyond him -- all he could do was lay there and wait...
Jesus spoke again:
“Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…”
“Oh, wait! He talked to the religious leaders, but at least he’s talking about me walking... Maybe there’s still hope... He’s turning back to me -- is this the moment?!”
“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
“Wha... What’s happening?! Warmth spreading... Tingling... Expanding... My legs... My arms... Seconds ago they were flaccid, atrophied, hunks of lifeless skin and bone. Now they are bulging with muscle again -- I hardly dare to try, but I must try … “ And with a gasp, “I can move! my hands … my feet. I can stand! I feel stronger than I did on the morning before I was injured 18 months ago!”
Alban looked wonderingly at Jesus, no longer looking up at him from the floor, but now standing eye to eye: Alban bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet but with his mouth hanging open in stupefied amazement and Jesus laughingly reaching out to gently close his mouth. Then Jesus gestures meaningfully to the floor and chuckles as he says, “You won’t be needing that anymore -- would you mind taking care of your mess there so I can go on with what I was saying?” But the smile that goes all the way to his eyes robs the words of any offense -- clearly Jesus is enjoying Alban’s wonder and amazement as much as Alban himself.
Alban looks down in confusion. Jesus said he wouldn’t need something and he should clean up his mess. What is it he won’t need anymore? Oh! His mat! And with a thunderclap of realization it hit him. His eyes begin to sting and leak liquid joy even as his rational mind struggles to catch up. He would spend no more days lying on that hated bed. His body was no longer a useless skin bag of bones and organs -- he was a MAN again. With a hand trembling with joy but restored to full muscular power he swooped down and picked up the whole mess of ropes and mat and held it above his head. As he looked up at these symbols of what had tied him down for the last 18 months he made eye contact with his 4 friends. They had all maneuvered to stick their heads down through the one small hole and were now gaping down at him with faces that were comical in their wonderment. Kreshnik in particular had the strangest expression on his face.
Alban couldn’t help himself as he pointed up at Kreshnik and roared with laughter. Jesus looked up as well and his wonderful smile opened to release peals of joyful laughter, fully joining with Alban in the celebration of the moment. Their laughter somehow released the crowd from their wondering reverie and everyone started talking, shouting, laughing, pointing, slapping each other (and Alban) on the back, and retelling the story -- all at once. From dead silence to pandemonium in an instant.
Although nobody could tell with the noise the crowd was making, seconds later Alban’s crescendo of laughter tapered off. The emotion that was flooding his mind was too deep and overwhelming to be expressed by mere laughter. He once again looked up at his friends with their heads poking down through the roof. Now their stupefied expressions had been replaced by a wholehearted joyous celebration -- he had never seen his friends look this happy, not throughout their entire lives. Making careful and meaningful eye contact with each of the 4 he raised his hand and used those newly rejuvenated muscles to press his fist hard against his heart. No words could have been heard over the noise of the crowd, but no words could have expressed the utter gratitude he felt towards them at that moment. Had any man ever been blessed with such faithful friends?!
Then he looked back at Jesus. Truly this man was his rescuer, his savior -- how could he ever repay the debt that he owed this man. As the tears brimmed over and washed down his face he fell on his knees and gripped Jesus’s knees as he sobbed and sobbed: “Thank you. Thank you.”
But although Alban’s body was restored to that of a strong young man, this Jesus was no 98-pound weakling. Alban felt powerful, calloused hands grip him and raise him to his feet. He was physically lifted to his feet and crushed in a grizzled embrace that left him no air for further sobs. Then he felt Jesus’s own shoulders heave and looked into his face in amazement - Jesus was weeping as openly and joyously as he himself was. Then Jesus broke eye contact and looked over Alban’s shoulder. Although it seemed impossible, his wonderful smile got even bigger as he leaned close to Alban’s ear to make himself heard:
“Son, I think somebody else wants to see you.”
In confusion Alban turned. Who could be intruding on this holy moment of gratitude and wonder?! As he turned the rest of the way his eye was caught by the top of a very familiar head. His fiancee, Shpresa, had worked her way through the crowd all the way to the front of the room and was now standing there, hair mussed and obviously slightly shy but clearly overjoyed.
The people standing near Shpresa started shushing the crowd to see how he would respond. Within seconds every eye was looking at them, every head craned to catch what would happen next.
Alban’s reaction did not reflect Shpresa’s shyness. In a bound he was at her side with his arms around her slender waist, lifting her in the air, whooping with excitement and twirling her in a joy-filled circle.
It was not exactly traditional in its haste, but nobody complained. Alban and Shpresa were married that very week. For decades people talked about the joy of that wedding. Never had there been music so beautiful, dancing so enthusiastic, good so bountiful or delicious, or joy so contagious. A miracle had occurred. A celebration was in order. And what a celebration it was!
And the topic of conversation kept going back to Jesus. He had left town in the middle of the confusion that followed Alban’s healing. Who WAS he?! Where had he come from?! How had he accomplished the miracle?! The religious leaders kept trying to tell people that somehow Jesus was bad or dangerous or something, but nobody had the slightest inclination to listen to them. They had BEEN THERE. They had SEEN him. Not just that they had seen the miracle -- they had seen the man! Anyone who exuded love like Jesus was no danger to anyone -- quite the opposite -- he was a man everyone wanted to know better. They could only hope he would return...
Once upon a time there were 5 friends. They were born in the same town in the same year, grew up together, went to school together, played on football team together, got in trouble together. They were inseparable; you almost never saw one without the others. After they finished high school they found various honest jobs around town and soon one of them, Alban, fell in love with a young lady named Shpresa. Soon they were engaged and Alban was hard at work building another story on his parents’ home in preparation for the wedding. But then one day the unthinkable happened. Alban had been working alone all day painting and at one point fell off ladder nearly 2 meters and landed in a crumpled heap. At first he thought the air had been knocked out him and that was why he couldn’t move. But as the agonizing seconds stretched on with no return of strength to either his hands or his legs the terrible truth dawned on him. As he lay twisted on the floor he realized he was paralyzed and would never move on his own again. He could move his head, he could talk, but he could move nothing below his neck.
It was Kreshnik that found him about an hour later. Soon all 4 friends were gathered around in shock. Shpresa had come as well and she wailed her lament of grief as she wept over Alban’s insensate body. Neighbors and relatives came to visit and express their sympathy, but what could they do? Gradually over the weeks and months there were fewer and fewer visitors. Only Shpresa and the 4 friends kept coming.
Alban did all he could to convince them to leave him be. In particular he tried to get Shpresa to leave -- she adamantly refused, insisting that they were still going to get married. Her parents were horrified at the thought and even Alban’s parents tried to get her to forget the idea, but she would not be dissuaded. Alban wouldn’t even consider it. He passed into a black depression and even asked his friends to help him commit suicide at one point. Hopeless. Needy.
Something else was happening about this same time. Rumors were flying through the villages. A simple, uneducated man of questionable birth had started to teach some amazing ideas and crowds were flocking to him in a way nobody had ever seen before. Now if his teaching was all that was happening that would have been mildly interesting. But at the same time he started to teach he started to do miracles. Real, honest-to-goodness MIRACLES. Things that couldn’t be explained in any other way. He started at a wedding where he turned several huge jars of water into wine -- who wouldn’t love a miracle worker who makes wine from water?! But that was just the beginning. If the rumors were to be believed he was (healing blind people, feeding thousands, healing lepers, walking on water, some even said raising dead people back to life).
At first Alban’s friends tried to keep the rumors from him. After all, they were just rumors and what’s the point of giving him hope when there is no hope. But they couldn’t keep him from hearing and eventually they began to discuss it -- might there be a possibility?! They would stay up late into the night discussing the possibilities.
Alban’s eyes changed from a dead, hopeless, vacant stare into a bright and almost feverish animation. Hope bloomed in his breast and began to infect his friends and his entire household. As rumor about Jesus piled on rumor and report followed report a vague doubting hope was transformed into an aching, throbbing obsession and finally into a pulsating belief that would not be denied. Alban was determined that as soon as Jesus came within walking distance he must find a way to see him. The other friends tried to keep his expectations realistic, but eventually his certainty overcame their protestations and all 5 of them began to make plans. They had no horse or cart, but they put together a harness they could put under Alban’s bed with a handle at each corner. They even practiced attaching it and carrying him out the door so they knew when the time came they would be able to start quickly when they found out where Jesus really was. They calculated that with the 4 of them carrying the bed they would be able to go as far as an hour in any direction without rest. Their plans were ready -- there was nothing else they could do but wait.
Then one day Bekim, the youngest of the 5 friends, came running down the road and rudely pushed through the gate without even knocking. He was already shouting before anyone came to the door. He had news that couldn’t wait.
Jesusi had come to their village. The very man that had confounded the Pharisees, taught of freedom and love and turned the religious community on their ear … most importantly, the man who had healed men and women and children who could never have been healed otherwise … that man, Jesusi, had come to their village. Bekim had just come from the high school where he had heard the man speak with his own ears. No miracles had been done yet, but HE WAS RIGHT THERE, minutes away. If there was ever a chance for Alban, this was it.
He was in need and there was only one way for that need to be fulfilled. He could hardly breathe for the excitement that seemed to be spilling out of him. His friends lashed the harness around his bed and had him out on the road in minutes. Having Jesus come all the way to their village was a huge help to their plans -- the high school was just 15 minutes down the road.
Within minutes the friends were bathed in sweat as they trotted along as quickly as they could go. There was a steady stream of people heading in the same direction -- it seemed like everyone in the whole country had heard that Jesus was at their high school.
Alban was being bounced around like popcorn in a hot kettle, but he had no word of complaint. If they dragged him to the high school by his ankles he would not have complained. THIS was his chance. Everything in life had turned against him in that slip of a foot on the ladder. Before he had been a strong young man, independent, the one others came to when they needed help. Now for the last 18 months he could do NOTHING for himself. He couldn’t even go to the toilet by himself -- what utter degradation, what utter NEED. As these thoughts raced through his mind he squeezed his eyes shut to shut off the flow of tears as his whole body seemed to reach out to the man at the end of the road. Could he? Would he? Would today be the end of his suffering? Or would it be the end of his hope?!
And so Alban bounced as his friends wheezed and staggered on. Unfortunately everyone else in the whole country didn’t have a bed to carry and try though they might everyone was passing them. The rumors had flown far and wide and everyone was desperate for a glimpse of Jesus. At first it was just the children who were dashing ahead, but as the 4 friends got tired even the middle aged adults were edging past them in the road and hurrying ahead.
Finally they arrived. But the high school had never looked like this before. Crowds were crammed into every open space, crushed near every window. Children were held on shoulders to try to get a glimpse of what was going on. Pushing, shoving, crowding. A child who arrived late could worm his way forward into the courtyard and get within earshot, but there wasn’t room for even a cat inside the door of the high school itself.
Kreshnik tried to lead them forward, pushing people out of the way, but they soon saw that it was hopeless. There was no way they were going to get in that building. And if they couldn’t get inside then Jesus would never see Alban. If Jesus never saw Alban then he would be helpless on that bed for the rest of his life. No work, no marriage, no children, no hope.
NO! Alban was not going to let this happen. As he cast his eyes around desperately he caught sight of a broken ladder next to the wall. His imagination flew ahead of his eyes, but as he turned his eyes upward he saw that there was still a hope. The room in which Jesus was teaching had only 1 story, and the roof was a terrac that was old and broken in places. Quickly he shouted to his friends to put him down and gather around as he hurriedly explained the plan that was forming as he spoke. His friends were a bit shocked, but as they looked at the building they realized it was the only plan that still left Alban with a shred of hope.
Bekim’s father worked in construction and lived just a few doors down from the high school. He ran to his home to grab any tools he could gather and bring back. Kreshnik pulled the ladder out and set it up against the back of the building, roughly re-attaching some of the broken rungs and then climbing up gingerly to make sure it would hold his weight. Meanwhile the other 2 quickly untied and retied the harness to lengthen the handles at each corner. By the time Bekim arrived back with a bag of tools the other friends were pulling Alban up the side of the building. He banged painfully against the bricks a few times, but it never crossed his mind to give up -- he just shouted encouragement to them as well as he could.
Then they were all on top of the roof. A quick glance showed them that the side of the room where the speakers always stood was under a part of the roof that was particularly decrepit. Alban urged them on. With a last doubtful glance at the others Bekim grabbed a hammer and started attacking the roof. The other friends pulled out other tools and in a moment all 4 of them were tearing and ripping and chiseling and banging. Within minutes they had a small hole as they pulled out a brick that opened into the room below. Kreshnik put his eye to the hole and saw that they were just a meter or so from where Jesus was standing. Now they had to move more slowly because a falling stone from the ceiling could very easily kill someone below. But no matter how carefully they progressed, they were still in a hurry and small stones and dust began to pour into the room below, raining down on the crowd below. The shouts of protest from inside the room were soon carried out the door and suddenly the 5 men were the target for abuse and shouting from their neighbors -- what were they doing destroying the roof over the main salla in the high school?! Were they crazy?!
But they couldn’t stop! No matter what anyone said, they had to get Alban to Jesus. This was his only hope.
Finally the hole was big enough for Alban’s thin, emaciated form to fit through. They checked to make sure he was still secured in his bed-harness and then carefully lowered him down. At one point the ropes got tangled, but by now the people below realized what was happening and reached up eagerly to help him.
Finally Alban had achieved his goal. He was laid out, somewhat unceremoniously but still … he was there. Jesus was standing there and Alban was lying on the floor at his feet. The crowd had been restless before but now as Jesus looked down kindly at Alban they were completely quiet. One man at the door was trying to explain to those outside what had happened, but the people around him shushed him so they could hear what Jesus was going to say... Silence descended. The atmosphere of expectation was electric.
Before there were rumors of miracles. Most people had their doubts -- probably it was just exaggeration or maybe just a magician’s tricks (numer shpejtesie). But everyone in this room and the hundreds of people who were gathered around the building all knew Alban. They had all grieved with him and his family when his young body with all his hope had been shattered. If Jesus could do something for this young man then it would be no rumor and no trick. What would he do? What would he say?
Jesus looked around at the crowd one more time as if wondering whether he should go on with what he had been saying. But it was obvious that nobody would be listening at this point. This didn’t seem to annoy Jesus, though -- he just smiled over at Alban and then knelt down beside him and put his hand on Alban’s shoulder.
Just a hand on his shoulder, but somehow Alban was comforted beyond words. So many people had come to visit him soon after his accident, but so few had reached out to touch him. It was as if they were afraid his paralysis was somehow infectious. They came to visit because they had been friends, but they didn’t come too close and almost nobody would touch him. It was a wordless and unintentional form of rejection, but at times it had frozen Alban’s soul more effectively than the paralysis that gripped his body. Now Jesus reached out and gripped his shoulder in a warm, strong grip. And what had started as a small smile on Jesus’s face seemed to grow until his whole face was lit up with an amazing, sublime joy. He opened his mouth and took a breath to speak:
“Son, your sins are forgiven.”
“Ummm... That wasn’t exactly what I expected. Sins forgiven?! Why are we talking about this religious stuff when my real problem is the fact that ... Hello! I can’t move my arms or legs! And anyway, what did I ever do to you that you need to forgive me?! This is the first time I’ve ever met you -- you couldn’t be forgiving me for something I’ve done to you. And the way you said it -- it sounds like you’re … well, it sounds like you were speaking as if you were God or something!” He quickly glanced up at some of the people standing nearby and realized that his religion teacher from the high school was standing there with several other teachers of the law. With a sinking feeling he realized that Jesus’s statement that his sins were forgiven were about to become the topic of a raging debate between Jesus and these teachers of the law. They would certainly be offended and object that Jesus was claiming the authority of God, saying in effect that he was God himself. And in the midst of that raging debate would he, Alban, be forgotten in the process?! After everything they had planned, all they had sacrificed, was it all going to be lost because of some religious argument?! But it had already gone beyond him -- all he could do was lay there and wait...
Jesus spoke again:
“Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…”
“Oh, wait! He talked to the religious leaders, but at least he’s talking about me walking... Maybe there’s still hope... He’s turning back to me -- is this the moment?!”
“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
“Wha... What’s happening?! Warmth spreading... Tingling... Expanding... My legs... My arms... Seconds ago they were flaccid, atrophied, hunks of lifeless skin and bone. Now they are bulging with muscle again -- I hardly dare to try, but I must try … “ And with a gasp, “I can move! my hands … my feet. I can stand! I feel stronger than I did on the morning before I was injured 18 months ago!”
Alban looked wonderingly at Jesus, no longer looking up at him from the floor, but now standing eye to eye: Alban bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet but with his mouth hanging open in stupefied amazement and Jesus laughingly reaching out to gently close his mouth. Then Jesus gestures meaningfully to the floor and chuckles as he says, “You won’t be needing that anymore -- would you mind taking care of your mess there so I can go on with what I was saying?” But the smile that goes all the way to his eyes robs the words of any offense -- clearly Jesus is enjoying Alban’s wonder and amazement as much as Alban himself.
Alban looks down in confusion. Jesus said he wouldn’t need something and he should clean up his mess. What is it he won’t need anymore? Oh! His mat! And with a thunderclap of realization it hit him. His eyes begin to sting and leak liquid joy even as his rational mind struggles to catch up. He would spend no more days lying on that hated bed. His body was no longer a useless skin bag of bones and organs -- he was a MAN again. With a hand trembling with joy but restored to full muscular power he swooped down and picked up the whole mess of ropes and mat and held it above his head. As he looked up at these symbols of what had tied him down for the last 18 months he made eye contact with his 4 friends. They had all maneuvered to stick their heads down through the one small hole and were now gaping down at him with faces that were comical in their wonderment. Kreshnik in particular had the strangest expression on his face.
Alban couldn’t help himself as he pointed up at Kreshnik and roared with laughter. Jesus looked up as well and his wonderful smile opened to release peals of joyful laughter, fully joining with Alban in the celebration of the moment. Their laughter somehow released the crowd from their wondering reverie and everyone started talking, shouting, laughing, pointing, slapping each other (and Alban) on the back, and retelling the story -- all at once. From dead silence to pandemonium in an instant.
Although nobody could tell with the noise the crowd was making, seconds later Alban’s crescendo of laughter tapered off. The emotion that was flooding his mind was too deep and overwhelming to be expressed by mere laughter. He once again looked up at his friends with their heads poking down through the roof. Now their stupefied expressions had been replaced by a wholehearted joyous celebration -- he had never seen his friends look this happy, not throughout their entire lives. Making careful and meaningful eye contact with each of the 4 he raised his hand and used those newly rejuvenated muscles to press his fist hard against his heart. No words could have been heard over the noise of the crowd, but no words could have expressed the utter gratitude he felt towards them at that moment. Had any man ever been blessed with such faithful friends?!
Then he looked back at Jesus. Truly this man was his rescuer, his savior -- how could he ever repay the debt that he owed this man. As the tears brimmed over and washed down his face he fell on his knees and gripped Jesus’s knees as he sobbed and sobbed: “Thank you. Thank you.”
But although Alban’s body was restored to that of a strong young man, this Jesus was no 98-pound weakling. Alban felt powerful, calloused hands grip him and raise him to his feet. He was physically lifted to his feet and crushed in a grizzled embrace that left him no air for further sobs. Then he felt Jesus’s own shoulders heave and looked into his face in amazement - Jesus was weeping as openly and joyously as he himself was. Then Jesus broke eye contact and looked over Alban’s shoulder. Although it seemed impossible, his wonderful smile got even bigger as he leaned close to Alban’s ear to make himself heard:
“Son, I think somebody else wants to see you.”
In confusion Alban turned. Who could be intruding on this holy moment of gratitude and wonder?! As he turned the rest of the way his eye was caught by the top of a very familiar head. His fiancee, Shpresa, had worked her way through the crowd all the way to the front of the room and was now standing there, hair mussed and obviously slightly shy but clearly overjoyed.
The people standing near Shpresa started shushing the crowd to see how he would respond. Within seconds every eye was looking at them, every head craned to catch what would happen next.
Alban’s reaction did not reflect Shpresa’s shyness. In a bound he was at her side with his arms around her slender waist, lifting her in the air, whooping with excitement and twirling her in a joy-filled circle.
It was not exactly traditional in its haste, but nobody complained. Alban and Shpresa were married that very week. For decades people talked about the joy of that wedding. Never had there been music so beautiful, dancing so enthusiastic, good so bountiful or delicious, or joy so contagious. A miracle had occurred. A celebration was in order. And what a celebration it was!
And the topic of conversation kept going back to Jesus. He had left town in the middle of the confusion that followed Alban’s healing. Who WAS he?! Where had he come from?! How had he accomplished the miracle?! The religious leaders kept trying to tell people that somehow Jesus was bad or dangerous or something, but nobody had the slightest inclination to listen to them. They had BEEN THERE. They had SEEN him. Not just that they had seen the miracle -- they had seen the man! Anyone who exuded love like Jesus was no danger to anyone -- quite the opposite -- he was a man everyone wanted to know better. They could only hope he would return...
- This man was needy. Accepting his need was essential to solving his problem. Have you accepted your need and your inability to meet the need? Or are you still trying to do it on your own?
- Jesus saw that the spiritual need was more important than the physical need (even though the physical need was extreme). He is wiser than we are and yet we continually get these mixed up. Are you so focused on your immediate physical needs that you are ignoring the more important issue?
- Jesus is the only one who can solve your need, and it has to be on HIS terms, not on yours. (Matthew 12:30, Acts 4:12). In God's economy you're either with him or you're against him. There's no middle ground and there's no spectator seats and there's no treaty of neutrality.
That is good! Did you come up with that? You should be an author!
ReplyDeleteI pray that your ministry will bear much fruit. I pray for ears to hear the message you communicate so well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this.
Amazing! Could not stop reading till the end of it, you are very good at it. There is no need to wish that your ministry flourishes and give fruits, as with the quality of your text, it certainly will. I also enjoy the quality of your programming AND I still laugh at the wide mouth frog joke, from time to time I hear it at youtube, user culen's abc, I recommend it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your text and shame on you, cos you made a grown man cry. :)
OK, you piqued my curiosity, Mr. Anonymous. Obviously we know each other, but I have no idea who you are... Care to share?
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. Not to many people in your position are so gracious. Your article was very poignant and understandable. It helped me to understand very clearly. Thank you for your help.
ReplyDeleteI like my anonymity, but I would certainly give that up to show appreciation for an incredible author and for such an incredible piece of text. Well, we don't know each other personally and my identity will not be of great surprise. I call myself CarlosAB on the PmWiki list and if you don't mind I'll keep reading and commenting your posts where I feel it is appropiate.
ReplyDelete