I Am Because I Belong

We celebrated the youth of our congregation this past month.  What a celebration it was!  This annual event always brings out friends and family of the youth who don't attend our church or any church at all.  For our older members it serves as a reminder that the youth of our congregation have what it takes to be leaders in the church.  For all other members it is a confirmation of the fact that these young people are a blessing to us; gifts from God since their birth and they have much to share.  For me, well, it's the one Sunday when I get to sit with my family in worship. :)

The scripture lesson for the day was Luke 5:17-26.  It's a healing story.  It's a story about love, kindness and friendship.  My Pop-Pop as a young man had four really close friends.  The five of them called themselves, "The Five Pals" and had shirts made with this name on the front.  They were a tight group;  almost like blood brothers.  They were there for one another.  They would do anything for any one of them.  That's what good friends do.  In the scripture lesson we have five friends and one of them is paralyzed and can't move.  So his four friends carry him around from place to place.  They had heard of this man Jesus who saved sinners and healed the sick.  They wanted to meet him.. They wanted their friend to meet him, hoping perhaps Jesus could heal their friend.  They believed Jesus could do it.  They came to the house where Jesus was meeting, but were unable to get inside by conventional means.  So they did the next best thing: went through the roof.  They were desperate and were unwilling to give up on their friend with out a fight.  Digging through the thatch and the tile of someone else's home is a radical thing to do.  In our day and age it would be considered breaking and entry, but for those five friends all they wanted was their paralyzed friend back.

Down through the roof goes this paralyzed man and placed at the feet of Jesus.  He's interrupting the meeting with some very important people.  And Jesus, seeing the love and commitment of this man's friends, stops what he is doing.  He sees them for who they truly are.  He sees their faith and the man walked again.  

It took a village, a small community of people to bring the man to Jesus for his healing touch and spiritual renewal.  You can't do it by yourself.  You've gotta have help.  You need someone who has your back; someone you can trust;  someone you can believe in.  These are some of the qualities of community.  The church is intended to be a community of believers in Jesus Christ who demonstrate God's love for them by loving and caring for each other.  We don't stop there.  We are called to share this love with the whole world, to connect with others so they may experience the love God has for them.

We have what it takes to share the Good News because we each have the light of Christ within us.  Let your light shine for all to see!