AIDS and Grace

Mark 2:1-10

After some days, Jesus returned back to Capernaum and the people of the town heard he was back home, which was Peter’s house. He taught the gospel to those who were there, but the house became so packed that people stood outside the door. Four men came, carrying a man so sick with AIDS he was bedridden, but they weren’t able to bring him to Jesus because of the crowd. So they climbed up on the roof, tore it apart and lowered the sick man through the hole on a cot, right in front of Jesus. Jesus was impressed with their faith as shown by their tenacity, so he said to the man with AIDS, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Some intellectuals were there, analyzing Jesus’ teaching, and their mouths frowned and questioned, “How could he talk like this? He is doing God’s job. For who can forgive sins except God?” And Jesus knew immediately what they were frowning about and he said, “What do you doubt? Do you think it’s easy doing my job? Would you try saying ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Get up, you’re healed?’ But I’ll tell you what, if you really want to know if the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins, then…” So he turned to the man on the ground and said, “Pay attention—get up, pick up you cot and go home. You’re healed.” And the sick man immediately got up, picked up his cot and walked out of the house. Every eye in the house widened, and they honored God for it: “We haven’t seen anything like this.”

The Implications of Sickness

In the ancient world no one looked at an illness or a disability and see an accident of nature, an attack of a virus or a weakened immune system. Sickness or disability in the ancient world was a spiritual condition. Disaster happened for a reason, and the only ones who were powerful enough to cause sickness were spirits: God or demons. Some people felt that they could manipulate these spirits and so cause sicknesses or perhaps cause them to go away through ritual or trickery. These were the ancient witch doctors, placing curses on people or trying to get rid of curses through the manipulation of spirits.

In the highly ethical society of the Jews, all spiritual action was a result of moral action—sickness came due to sin. Leprosy meant one had to be separated from the community, not because of infection so much as because of the spiritual indication of moral decay. The paralyzed, blind and deformed were not allowed to enter into the Temple to worship because they were seen as incomplete before God. Even in general, if one had a chronic sickness, it was suspected that they had done something to deserve it. The woman who had a hemorrhage was not allowed to touch anyone, ever, separated from her community because her sickness made her impure.

Of course, today, many of us have much the same attitude toward certain illnesses. If a person is drug sick, or has seizures due to alcohol abuse, most people think to themselves, “That’s just what they deserve,” including the addict. It wasn’t too many years ago that anyone who had AIDS was assumed to be a homosexual or a drug user. If a smoker has lung cancer, if a prostitute gets VD, if a mentally ill person gets sick from not taking their meds then most people would say, “Well, what do you expect?” There are many diseases and disabilities that people still blame the afflicted for.

Jesus’ Assumptions

It is so easy to say that if Jesus were here today that he would just blow all of those assumptions away. We trust in Jesus’ mercy and compassion to avoid such terrible implications. We expect him to say, “Illness is just a natural process, and people just need to be healed.” We see Jesus as the most compassionate of doctors, not even wanting to sting us with a vaccination. But Jesus was much more a man of his times than we like to assume.

There are only a few places where Jesus directly talks about the causes of sickness. In John 9, Jesus is asked directly about a specific blind man, and whose sin caused his blindness. In this place, Jesus gives an answer that we can better appreciate—he says that it was for God’s glory that he was made blind, so that God could heal him. But we need to recognize that Jesus only gave us half the answer we would like. He denied that sin caused the disability, but at the same time he affirmed the spiritual cause of the infirmity. Yes, Jesus implied, God caused the blindness, but it wasn’t due to anyone’s sin. Modern readers are still a bit uncomfortable with that answer.

But in two other places, Jesus affirms that people’s infirmities were due to their sin. One is in John 5, where he tells a man he had just healed, “Don’t sin anymore or you will become ill again.” And another is the passage above, where Jesus sees the infirmity and immediately he forgives the man’s sin.

What exactly is Jesus saying? He is saying that sickness isn’t always caused by viruses or bacteria—that often they do have a spiritual cause. Also, he is saying that sometimes—not always, but sometimes—sickness is due to one’s sin. He agrees with David in the Psalms who cries out to God for healing from his illness due to his sin (e.g. Psalm 32 and Psalm 41). People do get sick from sin. People can get sick from their addiction. AIDS can be caused from a sinful lifestyle. Sometimes terrorists do attack because of a nation’s disobedience to God. Not always, but sometimes. And Jesus clearly know which times are which.

Jesus’ Uniqueness

“So,” many would think, “this means that Jesus is just as hard-nosed as the right-wing judgmentalists. He also looks at a person’s sin instead of their need.” Not at all. It just means that Jesus is a realist. He sees the sickness for what it is and what really caused it. But he doesn’t need to lie to himself in order to offer help. Remember what Jesus said? “I have come to seek and to save the lost.” Jesus healed the sick BECAUSE they were sinners. Because he wanted to offer them God’s grace.

If a person is sick because of their sin, how do they feel? Judged, that’s how. They feel undeserving, separated from God and everyone who loves him. But if that person is healed miraculously, clearly by God’s power, then how do they feel? They feel that they were important enough for God to pay attention to them. They feel that they have been accepted by God. They feel forgiven, as if their sin was set aside, written off, that they have paid enough for their sin. And this is why Jesus healed.

Sure, Jesus on occasion did a healing just for compassion or for God’s glory (such as the widow’s son or raising Lazarus). But the run of the mill healing Jesus did was a healing of forgiveness. He was giving a second chance, an opportunity for the sinner to be forgiven, cleansed by God.

“Tough” Love

In the church today, there is a lot of talk about responsibility. We want people to be responsible for their actions, so they can learn not to do it again. So we think that making sinners pay some kind of penance is a good idea. Criminals should go to jail. Addicts should feel their sickness. The mentally ill should live with the consequences of their actions. This is called “tough love”, because the training is worth the suffering involved.

And it is true that God is involved in “tough love” sometimes. He judges the sinner and there are consequences for evil actions. But the interesting thing is that Jesus never engages in “tough love.” And perhaps this is because Jesus doesn’t see tough love as any kind of love at all. If Jesus approaches a sinner, he wants them to know that they have sinned, yes, but he also wants them to know they are forgiven. And if a person is dealing with the horrible consequences of their sin, then Jesus wants to deliver them, so they know that they are forgiven. Some suffering is okay, but their sense of separation is not good when they’ve confessed and are trying to get back with God.

So what should be the mission of the church? Giving the grace of God. We should be seeking God’s mercy and forgiveness and deliverance for all sinners.

Tenacity

Of course, God’s grace isn’t given to everyone. Many people do die in anguish, unforgiveness and suffering caused by their sin. God’s grace isn’t just floating around, attaching itself to all, unbidden. God’s grace only comes to those who seek it.

In the story above, the four men carrying the sick man were desperate. They couldn’t reach Jesus, so they took a radical approach. They climbed up to the roof, tore the roof apart and lowered the man to Jesus. I suspect that if anyone did that in a church today, they’d get nothing but a bill from the church! But Jesus saw their desperation and called it faith. They were willing to do anything to get their friend forgiven, and so they received what they sought.

Even so, Jesus is seeking those who are so desperate for forgiveness, for healing that they would do radical things to get it. Those who receive God’s grace aren’t those who pray a half-hearted prayer and then throw up their hands at the effort. Jesus WILL heal, he WILL forgive, but only those who endure. Jesus stated it plainly, “The one who endures to the end will be saved.” Only the tenacious need apply.