Newburg Christian Church

11-16-2008 Sermon

Healing Hospitality

Mark 2:1-12

Lynne and I have a home like many of you. Our home is in the Highview community and we’ve been there more than 14 years. All of you have homes; whether they are stand alone houses or apartments…they are places we call home. Our home is where we are most comfortable, it’s where we can relax and it’s where we enjoy being with family and friends. Right now our home is in need of a new roof after the September wind storm damaged it. Right now the place we call home is in need of repair. Even though the roof has problems, it’s still a home, our home.

I’m not sure, and the theologians who studied the passage we read this morning don’t agree, but the first verse of Mark 2 seems to indicate that Jesus had a home in the town of Capernaum, “When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.” Some believe home for Jesus was Matthew’s home, others say this is a reference that tells us Jesus had a home. Did you ever think about Jesus having a home? He travels so much that we may have never thought about Jesus having a home.

In Matthew 8 Jesus tells one man “birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Was he making a point or was Jesus claiming to be homeless? Whether or not the place where Jesus stayed in Capernaum was his home or just the place he called home isn’t the key part of this story. The key is what takes place in the home; and what takes place in the home is healing.

On this day word has gotten out that Jesus is back from his travels and is home. A crowd has gathered there to hear him teach. The crowd is so large that no one else can get in to see and hear him. The crowd is spilling out the door and blocking the paths to the home. The crowd has become a barrier to anyone wanting to get near to Jesus. The ones who are already there are a barrier to anyone else who may want in.

Four men who were carrying a paralyzed friend on a mat came to the home and realized there was no chance of getting through the crowd. They came expecting Jesus to heal the friend who could not walk and had to be carried. It’s not that the crowd wanted to keep the paralyzed man out; there was just no way to make room for them to enter the house. But this was a determined group of friends. They dug a hole in the roof and lowered their friend into the home where Jesus would see and heal him.

We admire the determination of the friends but let’s not forget what took place inside the home. Yes, there was a damaged roof and too often that gets our attention. We think about the reaction of Jesus to someone damaging his home, of the dust and roofing materials that fell on the crowd below. But what we can’t miss is that inside the home the man who was paralyzed found healing and forgiveness. Yes, the home was damaged but there was something more important taking place inside. A man who was damaged was being made whole. A human being who was damaged found forgiveness. This child of God who was damaged found healing.

While I don’t want us to lose focus of the healing and forgiveness the man received there are two other things that we must not miss in this story today; barriers and damage. When it comes to the church barriers are sometimes difficult to notice but damage quite often commands our attention. At times we’re not sure what to do about barriers but when the church is damaged we want it fixed right away.

Church barriers are those things that keep people out. Sometimes those barriers are outside the doors in the way the church is perceived by the community. Sometimes those barriers are inside the church in the way visitors are made to feel welcome or unwelcome. Barriers could include our music, our style of worship, or my style of preaching. Barriers may be as complex as our beliefs or barriers could be as simple as harsh conversations that are overheard by visitors. Barriers keep people away.

Churches can also be damaged. Churches can be damaged by disputes between members, by divided leadership, and by actions of the pastor. Damage surfaces in feelings that distance us one from another. Damage surfaces when hurt feelings turn the church inward and away from its mission and purpose. Let me say this clearly, this is NOT a damaged church. Yes, there are some hurt feelings and disappointments. Yes, you are going through an unexpected time of transition. Damage occurs when the church allows negative feelings to govern its identity and function.

This church has much to offer the kingdom. It is a home for people who are hurting and looking for answers. This church is a home for people facing personal struggles and financial stress. This church is a home for people who want to return to God and for those who don’t know what they’re searching for. That’s what the church is and that’s what the church does best. This church is a home where forgiveness and healing take place.

Just as God has a plan for me, God has a plan for each of you and for Newburg Christian Church. That plan is to bring healing and forgiveness into this home and to allow healing and forgiveness to take place in the lives of everyone who enters these doors.

Jesus is in His Newburg home to heal those who are coming through the doors for the first time but also to heal the hearts and souls of those who are already here and have been long time members. The church must not be a barrier to others in pain and in need of healing. There must be a healing hospitality in the church that welcomes new people and their wounds as well as a church that is here to heal the wounds of those who are a part of this family.

The man on the mat had friends willing to take him to Jesus for healing? Are you the friend who can carry someone to Jesus? Will you surround someone with enough love to take them to the master? Or, are you the one who is paralyzed and lying on the mat? Are you in need of healing right now? If so, will you allow others to pick you up and carry you to Jesus? Will you allow Jesus to touch your heart and make you whole again?

Let me say this again, this is NOT a damaged church. This is a church with a healing hospitality for everyone who enters our doors and even for people who don’t. That healing hospitality breaks down barriers and moves people into a relationship with Jesus. It moves them into the house where Jesus lives…you are welcome to enter Jesus’ home and feel His healing touch. You need His healing and forgiveness and I need them too. The church needs it too in order to be whole again.