Barriers

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 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. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:1-7 NIV)

Why was it difficult for the paralyzed man to get to Jesus?  Because of the crowd around Jesus.  But look who made up the front of that crowd.  It says that "some teachers of the law were sitting there."  If they were sitting there, you can bet they were front row.  The way I read it, it means that those who interpreted the law and the scriptures were keeping others from getting close to Jesus, especially those who needed him the most.

It still happens today.  Those who need Jesus the most are kept away from him by self-appointed interpreters of scripture.  They are a huge barrier.  They tell othes, "If you want to know Jesus, you have to be just like me."  Those who need Jesus just don't have the strength to get past this wall.  So it is up to us.  We must make friends and be friends and bring our friends past the self-righteous crowds to show our friends who Jesus really is.

A popular quote from Ghandi:  "I like your Christ.  I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."  We cannot attract anyone to Christianity by showing them other Christians.  We can only do it by showing them Christ himself.  And it helps to bring them to Christ through a community where the barriers aren't quite so thick... a community that is more about following Jesus than interpreting law and scripture... a community that loves more than criticizes... a community that values grace over judgement.  I'm so blessed to be a part of a faith community like that.

Lord Jesus,
Help us never to be a barrier to those seeking you.  Help us to lead our friends directly to you.  Thank you for Holy Cross and other Christian communities that really try to reflect your love.  Amen.