We are people of Story: the Story of God’s pursuit of us out of His lavishing love for us. In His story, we enter our own story. The arc from before Creation until the Renewal of All Things shapes our narrative as Kingdom people.

Luke 5:17-26 opens with a cast of familiar folks: Jesus, the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, the ever-present crowd, and, specifically, one paralyzed man upon his mat, carried by four persistent friends. 

The tension builds. Crowds crowd out the intentions of these four friends. Creatively, they remove mud and roof tiles to lower their friend down to Jesus. 

Can you imagine being that man? Paralyzed. Frozen in body, surely full of emotional wrestlings. 

Now imagine the craziness of these four friends who don’t take no for an answer.

What would it be like to be lowered from the safe haven of trusted friends on a stable rooftop to the unknown beneath him? 

Suspended precariously between what was and what could be. 

Wondering who this Jesus was. 

Being the cause of a massive disruption. 

I see elements of our day here. Perhaps, like me, you’ve felt frozen amid the impact of a sorrow, an interruption, and unexpected twist in the story. Perhaps you’ve moved from a somewhat safe haven to the vast unknown. 

Who has come alongside as an outrageously persistent friend? 

What’s it been like to be lowered to the feet of Jesus?

Much like when reading a spell-binding novel, when I read Scripture, new places extend a welcome. Through my senses, I imaginatively see, hear, taste, touch, and smell the surroundings. I notice expressions. The action unfolds. I am right in the thick of it. 

Through our sacred imagination, God nudges us to enter Scripture stories. We become the character: the friend, the man, one of the crowd, a Pharisee, or the homeowner. 

I notice my own reaction: what I think and feel. 

I watch Jesus as He gazes at me. 

I feel the impact of how others react. 

The dust settles thick on my sandals. 

This holy experience becomes a holy invitation to a deep conversation with Jesus. 

Together we journey on into a prayerful exploration of my heart. 

From within His Story, I discover more of my own.

The Word of God is always active as Hebrews 4:12 reminds us. 

What might happen if we enter the Story in a new way? 

May we enter Luke 5 in such a way that we find afresh God’s outrageous creative pursuit of our heart. 

We are people of Story: the Story of God’s pursuit of us out of His lavishing love for us.

Watch for all the ways you are lavishly loved as you enter the renewal of God’s Word. 

 

FOR INNER RENEWAL THROUGH THE WORD

“Gracious God and most Merciful Father, you have granted us the rich and precious jewel of your holy Word: Assist us with your Spirit, that the same Word may be written in our hearts to our everlasting comfort, to reform us, to renew us according to your own image, to build us up and edify us into the perfect dwelling place of your Christ, sanctifying and increasing in us all heavenly virtues; grant this, O heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.” (BCP, 2019)


Featured images are courtesy of Aaron Burden and Ben White via Unsplash.

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