“There are two freedoms – the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought.” – Charles Kingsley
What a time as this! Today is Martin Luther King day – a day to celebrate the life of one of the greatest freedom fighters of this century. In light of this day, Haiti has been in the forefront of our minds, hearts, and consciousness. Haiti was the first country to free itself from colonialism in the “New World” and create the first black State, led by François-Dominique Toussaint L’ouverture (name meaning: “the awakening of all saints”). Both men were killed for their efforts – but their efforts, to achieve true freedom, has lived on.
Yesterday at church the preacher spoke about service. Instead of doing a traditional “church-style” sermon, he decided to do a monologue about the life of a paralyzed man that Jesus Christ healed.
In Mark 2:1-12, many people came to see Christ preach at a house when he came into a town call Capernaum. The house was so crowded that the entrance was blocked. I can imagine that the buzz about who Christ was had circulated throughout the city. In the mist of people rushing to get to this house, there was a paralyzed man who was unable to walk to the house. It is unknown if this man knew who Jesus was or why everyone was so excited. We know from the story, however, that he was unable to walk. If you can imagine, a multitude of people running to hear God speak, each man trying to get something for himself, not thinking about this paralyzed man.
However, there were four men who saw the paralyzed man and decided that they were going to take him to God so that he could be healed. These men lifted the paralyzed man up from the ground, walked through the town, and brought him to the house where Jesus was. For them, it was not good enough just to get him to the entrance way. Although the entrance was too crowded to get the man inside of the house, they were so determined to get this man heal. Since they could not get in through the door, the four men climbed on the roof of the house and began to dig until the roof came off of the house (if you can imagine how hard it must have been to dig through a clay roof). They must have been tired already from carrying this man, but their mission was to get this man healed – they did not stop until he was able to get inside. I can just imagine the sweat pouring off of their faces and the fatigue in their arms. After they were able to dig until the roof came off, the four men lifted the paralyzed man onto the roof and lowered him into the house until he was right in front of Jesus. Jesus saw the paralyzed man and healed him say, “because of THEIR faith, your sins are forgiven.” It was the faith of the men who carried this paralyzed man to the house and the determination to get him healed that healed this man indeed. These men did not come in the presence of God to be healed for themselves – their efforts were all for this paralyzed man.
My friend shared a story with me today that really touched my heart. He told of a man in Haiti who was stuck under a building – from his chest up was free, but the rest of his body was trapped under rubble. Workers tried fervently to pull this man out of the rubble. After days of trying to get the man free, the man unfortunately died – but the men continued to try to pull this man free from the rubble in spite of his death.
Our true mission in life is to work for others, in what ever vocation we have chosen. We should continue to encourage and lift people up when they are paralyzed in the mind, body, or spirit. Like the four men who carried the paralyzed man in the bible and the workers in Haiti who helped to free a man trapped under rubble, it was the efforts and faith of the freedom fighters who came before us that set us free. These freedom fighters did not stop digging, even when it seemed hopeless. The freedom they fought for was “true freedom” – not the freedom to do what we want to do, but the freedom to do what we ought to do. It is our task is to live in “true freedom” so that these fighter’s efforts live on even after their death.
