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Connections...
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowds, the four men opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Child, your sins are forgiven."
Mark 2:1-12
The roofers
A true story, told by Jesuit Father Gary Smith in the National Catholic Reporter (November 16, 1998):
A friend suffered from multiple sclerosis, that insidious disease that slowly and increasingly cripples its sufferers. Once the long haul with MS commenced, he went from a few awkward inconveniences to falling on his face; from a cane to a wheelchair; finally, in his last years, he was flat on his back.
A group of close friends came to his aid when he became increasingly ill. He called them "the roofers" -- alluding to those famous stretcher--bearers in the Gospel. They were old friends from his college days and his brief stint with the Jesuits in the 1960s. They collectively decided three years ago to insure that his days were taken care of financially. His pension and insurance could not cover all the expenses of his home and the kind of care he needed. So, each month, the "roofers" would send in the bucks to one of their point men who in turn wrote the necessary checks. The group included lawyers, physicians, teachers, architects, blue collar workers, psychologists and priests. They were comfortable with the obscurity of their mission of love, like their Gospel counterparts who worked behind the scenes to attend to a wounded brother. In their role as "roofers" these ordinary friends were extraordinary.
At his funeral, one of the roofers preached the homily. After reading the story of the paralytic man and his friends, the "roofer" priest said:
"We were indeed the people of the Gospel: packing him on his litter, down the alleys, cross the river, up the stairs, to the very roof. We pulled off the tiles. We hardly had a choice. He was yanking on us to do so. It really wasn't hard. He was pretty light, after all. He didn't complain. His spirits were pretty good most of the time. [He] used to say, 'My vocation, during this part of my life, is to lead people to God by their taking care of me.' It worked. Our hearts opened. He showed us faith; he showed us caring; he showed us forgiveness; he showed us kindness. He led the way to God. Our job was easy. All we did was carry him."
CONNECTION: The "roofers" in today's gospel teach us what it means to be a community of faith. "Roofers" are broken open by their act of love. Their focus is on the wounded brother or sister; in their service to them, the discover what it means to be disciples of the Jesus of love, truth and compassion. Driven by such love, "roofers" do not get stuck in selfishness and are dispossessed of the temptation to seek honor and riches and power. Christ calls us to be "roofers" for one another, to meet Christ and to be Christ for one another.
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