Get Up

“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” Matthew 9:6

I come from a long line of people named WalkingStick. My mother's maiden name is WalkingStick and my father used to joke that he took his walking stick everywhere he went. Having a name like WalkingStick, people often want to know its origin then the conversation invariably moves to the other kind of walking sticks or canes. People often then tell me stories of overcoming illness, their experience walking with a cane or a walking stick, and other stories that illuminate a time when they have leaned on others and trusted God for their well being. I am amazed how one little name can evoke such powerful memories. And I am thrilled that I can lean on my heritage, as there have been many wonderful people who have come before me in the Cherokee nation. I am also grateful that I can lean on my faith as God has provided me with the promise to heal me and make me strong.

We hear today of the man who was paralyzed and has been made whole. The scribes are upset because Jesus told the man his sins were forgiven. Jesus upset them more, by making him whole and inviting him to get up and walk on home. We are sometimes upset when what we know for sure is changed. We can sometimes rely too much on the canes and walking sticks that we have known and fail to open ourselves for God's healing. We can be afraid of forgiveness simply because if forgiven, we can no longer hold onto the ways we have known.

We are in changing times and many people are upset that what they once relied on has gone away. Today, I want to remember that so many are upset and so many are in transition. And I want to remember that Jesus is right in the midst of the broken people aching for healing and the frightened people aching for stability. May God grant us all patience today as we walk with Christ through all the changes that are before us.