"Teamwork"
Mark 2:1-12
Ken Carter made national news back in 1999 when he locked out his entire undefeated basketball team for poor academic performance. A real-life high school coach in impoverished Richmond, California, Carter was trying to change the attitudes of his players by imposing a strict regime that included respectful behavior, a dress code, and good grades as a prerequisite for playing on the team. Fed up with the discipline, one player, Timo Cruz, quit the team only to return later with a desire to be reinstated. When he asked the coach what he must do to play, Carter told him he had to do 2,500 pushups and 1,000 suicides drills by Friday—a task the coach thought impossible. In the movie, Coach Carter, the story is told how the team unified and made sacrifices for the good of one—and for the good of all.
Timo worked hard. But when Friday came, he was short of the goals; he had failed. Though quite impressed by Timo’s effort, Coach Carter asked him to leave. But another player, Jason, who had a personality conflict with Timo, stepped forward. “I’ll do pushups for him,” he tells the coach. “You said we’re a team. One person struggles, we all struggle. One player triumphs, we all triumph. Right?” Speechless though inspired at the way his team is coming together and responding to his efforts at teamwork, Coach Carter watches Jason drop to the floor and begin doing pushups. One by one the entire team joins in to help Timo reach both goals.
Sometimes one person just can’t do it. Sometimes it takes a team. Sometimes it takes persistent, don’t-ever-quit teamwork. Houses in the time that Mark wrote about were built of stone. They had flat roofs made of mud mixed with straw. Outside stairways led to the roofs. These friends probably carried the paralyzed man up the outside stairs to the roof, then took apart the mud and straw mixture to make a hole through which to lower their friend to Jesus. They could have called it quits thinking it too difficult to get through the crowd. But they didn’t. They persisted. They worked together, overcame the obstacles, and made a way. And because they did, these four nameless chums have been immortalized not for fifteen minutes of fame but for twenty centuries of honor! One moment! One simple act of kindness—abetted by creativity and sweat—brought a man to Christ and changed his life and made everybody who was there that day say, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”
Picture yourself there! Here’s Jesus teaching, and suddenly chunks of mud and thatch are falling on His head. Some of us under the same circumstances would have looked up and said, “Hey! Don’t mess up that roof! Do you have any idea how long it’s gonna take me to fix that?” Others of us would have been worried about the dirt in our hair and on our clothes. And if so, it’s all because we’re far too concerned for things and too little concerned for people. Keeping our stuff neat and in order is more important than the teamwork it takes in getting somebody to the feet of Jesus.
Interestingly this passage is unique among all the reports of Jesus’ healing ministry because the faith of the paralytic is not expressed. The emphasis is usually on the personal faith of the one who is to be healed, and that personal faith is usually crucial to the cure. But in this case, it’s not the faith of the individual that’s noted; it’s the faith of the friends who bring the paralytic to Jesus. It’s the faith of the community on behalf of the individual that is highlighted; it’s the teamwork of the quiet heroes that makes the difference.
Quiet heroes still live in every town and are a part of every church. We have a good number right here in this congregation. They’re the ones we never hear about on the news, the ones whose pictures never make the papers, the ones whose heroism may be grand acts or quiet kindnesses, but they’ll be long remembered for the lives they’ve touched. They may not have names anyone beyond their families and friends and communities may recognize, but they are and will be remembered.
How far are you willing to go in loving God by loving a neighbor in need? A love that fails to be open to opportunities for healing is no love at all. Without the prayers, the faith, the persistence, and the teamwork of loyal friends, the paralytic wouldn’t have been healed. Don’t ever underestimate what God is able to do with your help! You are Christ’s hands, feet, voice, and even presence. Miracles can and do happen when you obey the command to love your neighbor!
When they were young, life with Marcy’s two sons was what she would tactfully call “challenging.” But sometimes in the midst of broken bones, torn jeans, and notes from the principal, she would get a comforting glimpse of the fine young men Kevin and Eric would one day become. One such glimpse came when Kevin and Eric befriended a new boy in the neighborhood.
Danny was thin and slightly built. He couldn’t run and jump and climb like the rest of the neighborhood children. He spent his days in a wheelchair. Although there were dozens of children for blocks around, only Kevin and Eric took the time to meet Danny and spend time playing with him. Usually, they would go around the corner to his house. Once in a while, they would help Danny navigate the streets and sidewalks and bring him home with them. As their friendship with Danny grew, they accepted and loved him without seeing him as physically limited.
One Saturday, Kevin and Eric asked if Danny could spend the night with them. He was invited to sleep over and to accompany them to church the next morning. After playing games and watching television, the dad carried Danny upstairs to the boys’ room and made certain he was comfortable for the night.
The next day, with help from everyone, Danny was soon dressed and ready for church. Kevin and Eric helped Danny into the backseat of the station wagon, and they loaded the wheelchair into the cargo area. Once at the church, the boys unloaded and happily wheeled Danny off to meet their friends.
After Sunday school, Marcy and her husband were entering the sanctuary when the minister approached them. Kevin and Eric had asked him if Danny could light the candles. Concerned about the logistics and obstacles of Danny navigating the stairs, the minister had tried to persuade them otherwise. But the boys had insisted that Danny perform the honor and had assured him that they’d figured out a plan. Wisely, the minister had given consent and left it in the boys’ hands.
As the opening music began, Marcy turned to see how her two unpredictable sons would make this miracle happen. Kevin and Eric stood behind the wheelchair, beaming from ear to ear. In front of them sat Danny, proudly and nervously holding the long brass rod that would set the candles blazing. Slowly walking to the music, the boys pushed the wheelchair down the aisle. Soon, all heads were turned to follow their progress. The entire congregation had just become aware of the challenge ahead: the series of steps Danny would have to climb to reach the
altar. Did they plan to carry that heavy wheelchair up those stairs? Would they try to pick him up and carry him? Was this fast becoming a disaster?
Kevin and Eric rolled Danny’s chair to the foot of the steps and stopped. Slowly, and with a dignity beyond their years, Kevin and Eric ascended the stairs while Danny remained in his chair. Each boy grasped a candlestick and carried it back down the stairs. Reaching Danny’s wheelchair, they leaned forward and offered the altar candles to their waiting friend. Danny proudly raised the golden wand and gently lit each candle. Kevin and Eric carefully guarded the flames with cupped palms as they carried the candles back up the stairs and placed them back on the altar. Then they returned to Danny and rotated his chair to face the congregation. Slowly, they wheeled him back down the aisle.
Danny’s face was a joyous thing to see. His grin blazed through the sanctuary and lit the very rafters of the church, sending a thrill through every heart. He was visibly elated and held the brass candle lighter as if it were a royal scepter.
It’s not just about us as individuals. It’s about all of us as a community of faith. Christ has not merely redeemed individuals; He’s also assembled us into a united and interdependent body—the church. The apostle Paul reminds us that when one part of this body suffers, every part suffers with it. And if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Shouldn’t this motivate us to carry one another’s burdens and rally around those who are facing particularly difficult challenges? Maybe we need to figure out who we are—who we’re going to be. Are we the people in the foyer pushing one another to get a look at Jesus while simultaneously preventing those who need His touch from seeing Him, or even from getting close? Or are we the persistent friends kneeling on the roof, doing the grubby work of kindness with calloused hands and dirty fingernails?
The paralyzed man’s need moved his friends to action, and they brought him to Jesus. When you recognize someone’s need, do you act? Many people have physical and spiritual needs that you can meet, either by yourself or with others who are also concerned. Human need moved these four men; let it also move you to compassionate action. Let Jesus Himself work through you to have faith for and to show love to your neighbor.
Let us pray: Lord, live and work through us in such a powerful way that we will more readily recognize the needs of our neighbors and then spring into action. Enable us to be Your compassionate hands and feet and voice and presence. Remove any inhibitions we might have toward doing the grubby work of friendship and kindness—the work of loving our neighbor. We pray in Jesus’ name.
Mark 2:1-12
Ken Carter made national news back in 1999 when he locked out his entire undefeated basketball team for poor academic performance. A real-life high school coach in impoverished Richmond, California, Carter was trying to change the attitudes of his players by imposing a strict regime that included respectful behavior, a dress code, and good grades as a prerequisite for playing on the team. Fed up with the discipline, one player, Timo Cruz, quit the team only to return later with a desire to be reinstated. When he asked the coach what he must do to play, Carter told him he had to do 2,500 pushups and 1,000 suicides drills by Friday—a task the coach thought impossible. In the movie, Coach Carter, the story is told how the team unified and made sacrifices for the good of one—and for the good of all.
Timo worked hard. But when Friday came, he was short of the goals; he had failed. Though quite impressed by Timo’s effort, Coach Carter asked him to leave. But another player, Jason, who had a personality conflict with Timo, stepped forward. “I’ll do pushups for him,” he tells the coach. “You said we’re a team. One person struggles, we all struggle. One player triumphs, we all triumph. Right?” Speechless though inspired at the way his team is coming together and responding to his efforts at teamwork, Coach Carter watches Jason drop to the floor and begin doing pushups. One by one the entire team joins in to help Timo reach both goals.
Sometimes one person just can’t do it. Sometimes it takes a team. Sometimes it takes persistent, don’t-ever-quit teamwork. Houses in the time that Mark wrote about were built of stone. They had flat roofs made of mud mixed with straw. Outside stairways led to the roofs. These friends probably carried the paralyzed man up the outside stairs to the roof, then took apart the mud and straw mixture to make a hole through which to lower their friend to Jesus. They could have called it quits thinking it too difficult to get through the crowd. But they didn’t. They persisted. They worked together, overcame the obstacles, and made a way. And because they did, these four nameless chums have been immortalized not for fifteen minutes of fame but for twenty centuries of honor! One moment! One simple act of kindness—abetted by creativity and sweat—brought a man to Christ and changed his life and made everybody who was there that day say, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”
Picture yourself there! Here’s Jesus teaching, and suddenly chunks of mud and thatch are falling on His head. Some of us under the same circumstances would have looked up and said, “Hey! Don’t mess up that roof! Do you have any idea how long it’s gonna take me to fix that?” Others of us would have been worried about the dirt in our hair and on our clothes. And if so, it’s all because we’re far too concerned for things and too little concerned for people. Keeping our stuff neat and in order is more important than the teamwork it takes in getting somebody to the feet of Jesus.
Interestingly this passage is unique among all the reports of Jesus’ healing ministry because the faith of the paralytic is not expressed. The emphasis is usually on the personal faith of the one who is to be healed, and that personal faith is usually crucial to the cure. But in this case, it’s not the faith of the individual that’s noted; it’s the faith of the friends who bring the paralytic to Jesus. It’s the faith of the community on behalf of the individual that is highlighted; it’s the teamwork of the quiet heroes that makes the difference.
Quiet heroes still live in every town and are a part of every church. We have a good number right here in this congregation. They’re the ones we never hear about on the news, the ones whose pictures never make the papers, the ones whose heroism may be grand acts or quiet kindnesses, but they’ll be long remembered for the lives they’ve touched. They may not have names anyone beyond their families and friends and communities may recognize, but they are and will be remembered.
How far are you willing to go in loving God by loving a neighbor in need? A love that fails to be open to opportunities for healing is no love at all. Without the prayers, the faith, the persistence, and the teamwork of loyal friends, the paralytic wouldn’t have been healed. Don’t ever underestimate what God is able to do with your help! You are Christ’s hands, feet, voice, and even presence. Miracles can and do happen when you obey the command to love your neighbor!
When they were young, life with Marcy’s two sons was what she would tactfully call “challenging.” But sometimes in the midst of broken bones, torn jeans, and notes from the principal, she would get a comforting glimpse of the fine young men Kevin and Eric would one day become. One such glimpse came when Kevin and Eric befriended a new boy in the neighborhood.
Danny was thin and slightly built. He couldn’t run and jump and climb like the rest of the neighborhood children. He spent his days in a wheelchair. Although there were dozens of children for blocks around, only Kevin and Eric took the time to meet Danny and spend time playing with him. Usually, they would go around the corner to his house. Once in a while, they would help Danny navigate the streets and sidewalks and bring him home with them. As their friendship with Danny grew, they accepted and loved him without seeing him as physically limited.
One Saturday, Kevin and Eric asked if Danny could spend the night with them. He was invited to sleep over and to accompany them to church the next morning. After playing games and watching television, the dad carried Danny upstairs to the boys’ room and made certain he was comfortable for the night.
The next day, with help from everyone, Danny was soon dressed and ready for church. Kevin and Eric helped Danny into the backseat of the station wagon, and they loaded the wheelchair into the cargo area. Once at the church, the boys unloaded and happily wheeled Danny off to meet their friends.
After Sunday school, Marcy and her husband were entering the sanctuary when the minister approached them. Kevin and Eric had asked him if Danny could light the candles. Concerned about the logistics and obstacles of Danny navigating the stairs, the minister had tried to persuade them otherwise. But the boys had insisted that Danny perform the honor and had assured him that they’d figured out a plan. Wisely, the minister had given consent and left it in the boys’ hands.
As the opening music began, Marcy turned to see how her two unpredictable sons would make this miracle happen. Kevin and Eric stood behind the wheelchair, beaming from ear to ear. In front of them sat Danny, proudly and nervously holding the long brass rod that would set the candles blazing. Slowly walking to the music, the boys pushed the wheelchair down the aisle. Soon, all heads were turned to follow their progress. The entire congregation had just become aware of the challenge ahead: the series of steps Danny would have to climb to reach the
altar. Did they plan to carry that heavy wheelchair up those stairs? Would they try to pick him up and carry him? Was this fast becoming a disaster?
Kevin and Eric rolled Danny’s chair to the foot of the steps and stopped. Slowly, and with a dignity beyond their years, Kevin and Eric ascended the stairs while Danny remained in his chair. Each boy grasped a candlestick and carried it back down the stairs. Reaching Danny’s wheelchair, they leaned forward and offered the altar candles to their waiting friend. Danny proudly raised the golden wand and gently lit each candle. Kevin and Eric carefully guarded the flames with cupped palms as they carried the candles back up the stairs and placed them back on the altar. Then they returned to Danny and rotated his chair to face the congregation. Slowly, they wheeled him back down the aisle.
Danny’s face was a joyous thing to see. His grin blazed through the sanctuary and lit the very rafters of the church, sending a thrill through every heart. He was visibly elated and held the brass candle lighter as if it were a royal scepter.
It’s not just about us as individuals. It’s about all of us as a community of faith. Christ has not merely redeemed individuals; He’s also assembled us into a united and interdependent body—the church. The apostle Paul reminds us that when one part of this body suffers, every part suffers with it. And if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Shouldn’t this motivate us to carry one another’s burdens and rally around those who are facing particularly difficult challenges? Maybe we need to figure out who we are—who we’re going to be. Are we the people in the foyer pushing one another to get a look at Jesus while simultaneously preventing those who need His touch from seeing Him, or even from getting close? Or are we the persistent friends kneeling on the roof, doing the grubby work of kindness with calloused hands and dirty fingernails?
The paralyzed man’s need moved his friends to action, and they brought him to Jesus. When you recognize someone’s need, do you act? Many people have physical and spiritual needs that you can meet, either by yourself or with others who are also concerned. Human need moved these four men; let it also move you to compassionate action. Let Jesus Himself work through you to have faith for and to show love to your neighbor.
Let us pray: Lord, live and work through us in such a powerful way that we will more readily recognize the needs of our neighbors and then spring into action. Enable us to be Your compassionate hands and feet and voice and presence. Remove any inhibitions we might have toward doing the grubby work of friendship and kindness—the work of loving our neighbor. We pray in Jesus’ name.
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