A Surprising Mother

 “Scribbly and the Red Tornado” by Sheldon Mayer, July 1941, All-American comics, issue 28, 1.

 

On Mother’ Day we celebrate the mothers or mother figures who are the heroines in our lives. In recent years a lot of attention has been paid to Wonder Woman who first appeared October 1941 as a seminal superheroine, but she is not the first in the history of comic books. She is preceded by other female crime fighters in costumes who activate their natural powers,[1] such as superheroines Miss Victory and The Black Cat who both first appeared August 1941 and the Red Tornado who first appeared November 1940 (“the first DC costumed heroine before Wonder Woman”).[2]

The Red Tornado is a mother and a working homemaker, a big healthy strong woman, and her sidekicks are two children, one her daughter, the other a neighbor boy, the “two youngest crime fighters in the world,”[3] the Cyclone Kids. As author Sheldon Mayer describes her: “In a short space of time, the Red Tornado’s name has become a household word! There is no criminal from international bank-robber to petty thief, who does not fear the vengeance of this masked marauder!!! The entire nation is burning with a vast curiosity to know what man’s face lies beneath that metal mask. And no one knows that that face belongs to a woman!...None other than good old Ma Hunkle!!!”[4] How many superheroines fight crime together with their children? The Red Tornado ironically hides her humble identity under a metal cooking pot.

These costumed heroines remind us of our own mothers on Mother’s Day. We remember Bill’s mother, Helen, who for many years won the top prize as outstanding salesperson for Macy’s in Springfield, New Jersey, and who encouraged Bill in many of his life’s ventures. When Bill’s dad was hurt in an industrial accident, his mother singlehandedly supported the family financially during three years of his father’s recovery.

We also remember Aída’s mother, Aída, short for Adelaida, who was the only sibling out of seven (two were men), who worked with her father in his metal and bag business. She was quite a business entrepreneur and helped pay for Aida’s college education through various endeavors, including raising and selling French poodles. (Aida’s job was to sheer the poodles and ensure the puppies were safely born.)

God who created mothers (and fathers) used the imagery of mothers to describe aspects of God’s character even though God is a Spirit and has no gender.[5] For example, God as a mother carries the nation of Israel “from the womb,” lifts it, and supports it from youth “until old age,” “I myself am the One…I myself will bear, I myself have made and I myself will lift up, and I myself will bear and I will deliver” (Isa. 46:3-4).[6] God is like a Super-Mother! God never forgets us (Isa. 49:15). God is also like a lioness and a mother bear. A lioness will roar and protect its young as the Lord protects Israel (Isa 31:4).

So, too, all of us can rely on God to care for us and protect us and enable us to care for and protect others, as God did through the great women of the Bible, like Deborah, who led the Israelite army to fight the enemy, Jael who defeated the enemy’s leader, the wise woman who saved a city, the midwives who rescued the Hebrew children from extinction, Hulda, whom a king and his council consulted for her God-given wisdom superior to theirs, Phoebe who was Paul’s mentor, Prisca, who worked side by side with Paul as an expert teacher, Mary, who was the chosen vessel to bring our Savior into the world and serve as a humble and loving model, and many other women.[7]

God bless you to flourish and follow the lead of these women as you minister to those whom God has entrusted to your care.

Aída and Bill

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[1] The definition of “superhero or superheroine” differs somewhat. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines a superhero or superheroine as “a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers; also : an exceptionally skillful or successful person” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superhero). Dictionary.com clarifies that a superhero must be “a morally righteous hero in a fictional work who possesses extraordinary abilities or supernatural powers and uses them to fight evil” (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/superhero). The Red Tornado is not “superhuman.” She has developed her natural potentialities into “extraordinary” powers. Wikipedia adds: “A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses superpowers or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their powers to help the world become a better place, or dedicating themselves to protecting the public and fighting crime (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhero). While Britannica appears to limit “superhero” to those “whose extraordinary or ‘superhuman’ powers are often displayed in the fight against crime and assorted villains, who in turn often display superhuman abilities as well. In many respects, superheroes are like the gods of classical mythology and other mythological traditions,” yet their examples of “superheroines” include costumed women who fight crime with extraordinary human abilities, such as the Woman in Red, Lady Luck, and the Black Cat. (Peter Sanderson and Gina Misiroglu, https://www.britannica.com/art/superhero).

[2] Robert M. Overstreet, The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, 26^th ed. (New York: Avon, 1996), 24. Other than DC comics, earlier The Woman in Red (March 1940) in Thrilling Comics is costumed as she fights crime, but the Red Tornado is the first mother superheroine. Nishid Motwani, “10 Female Superheroes Who Were Created Before Wonder Woman,” Jan. 13, 2021, https://www.cbr.com/female-superheroes-created-before-wonder-woman/.

[3] The Red Tornado calls the children this title in “Scribbly and the Red Tornado, July 1941, All-American DC comics, issue 28, page 4.

[4] “Scribbly and the Red Tornado,” issue 28, 1.

[5] See a description of the images and analogies used for the Trinity in William David Spencer, Three in One: Analogies for the Trinity (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2022).

[6] See further Aída Besançon Spencer, “The Full Vision: Feminine Images for God for Ministry,” ch. 5, in Beyond the Curse: Women Called to Ministry (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985). The Hebrew is translated by Aída.

[7] See further ch. 4, “First Apostles, Second Prophets, Third Teachers: Examples of Women in Authority in the New Testament,” Beyond the Curse.

 

Ma Hunkle

 

 

 

Jaywalking in Cairo

 

                              picture of downtown Cairo April 2025 by Aida Besancon Spencer

We decided to take a walk in downtown Cairo and discovered what was missing were crosswalks and traffic lights (besides the lone one we saw dangling mutely on what was left of its wires). So, everybody jaywalks. Since nobody stopped for any pedestrians, crossing a street appeared improbable, at an intersection impossible. Vehicles kept coming not only down both sides with little visible necessity to stop, but at cross streets from all four sides, as well as from alleys, parking lots, bus stops, taxi stands, driveways, all charging in at the same time. We felt like we were trying to squeeze our way through an assembly line pumping out motor power in all different sizes, barreling in all directions. Most impressive were seasoned pedestrians, today’s artful dodgers, eyes fastened on their cell phones, crossing with an impunity that evoked applause. As cautious tourists, paused like the fleeing Israelites at the Red Sea (but this time one that was emitting gasoline fumes), we waited and waited and waited, searching for an opening. We ourselves are veterans of decades of city ministry and have faced down the most hardened corporate executives who ever floored it to race to their next meeting, but in Cairo traffic we met our collective vehicular nemesis. But, just as we thought we’d have to camp on the sidewalk until midnight before we made our final dash for the distant far side, each time a young executive in a business suit, or a middle-aged worker in coveralls, or a student with books in a satchel quietly came to our side, stood a little forward than us, as the myriad of trucks and cars whizzed by. Suddenly, we’d be given a nod, and all three of us would scurry across the street.

At first, we put out our hands to stop recalcitrant drivers, one of whom answered with an exasperated gesture, adroitly communicating something like: “Why are you in my way? Are you crazy?!” Panting on the other side of the street, we thanked each rescuer, who invariably smiled and said: “Welcome to Cairo!”

Clearly, it is impossible not to fall in love with a people who graciously come alongside one and help one stay alive – when they are not themselves behind the wheel. In fact, everyone we met in the various cities and the countryside of Egypt we explored for a couple of weeks this spring was gracious, pleasant, welcoming, while still serious and intense. It’s true that tourism is Egypt’s greatest industry, and nearly everyone treasures visitors, especially those with American dollars. But this is not a superficial commitment. According to our guide, when radical Jihadists assassinated President Anwar Sadat and then honored his murderers, started shooting tourists, reportedly rigged the elections, and took over control, to the chagrin of all, literally millions of Egyptians filled the streets in protest, forced another election and supervised that one closely, defeating these insurgents soundly. Although this incident took place in the early 1980s, no one has apparently forgotten it and, though the country is at peace internally, we had an armed guard accompany each bus when we toured and three police cars to meet our buses each time we paused to see this country’s wonderful sites – the pyramids, the Sphinx, the treasures and mummy of King Tut, the great dam, the beautiful Nile, flanked on both sides by a Caribbean-like greenery, the museums, the modern hotels, one connected to a vast inner shopping mall of multiple floors, the markets, the temples, the famed Coptic hanging church, suspended in the sky, the hallowed ground where tradition says Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus found refuge in their escape from the murderous Herod, and much more, all sitting on the desert in constant vigilance to preserve the waters of the Nile and their present way of life. .

Though a Muslim country, where amplified calls for prayer blast out each day and some nights in an ambience wherein even the former Christian Nubians have generally converted, Egyptians are serious about preserving religious diversity and, although only ten percent of the country remains Christian, crosses on Coptic Christian Churches shine out in the night and services and festivities are regularly held in honor of the Triune God.

This kind of zeal is exemplified by the venders who not only gather when an excursion ship, like our Viking craft, enters their strip of the Nile, but forge out in boats to meet it, shouting, “Helloooo, Ladies! Look at the nice [rugs, scarfs, shirts, statues, pendants, bracelets, bookmarks, et. al] I have for you!”  Accompanying them are young boys on floating boards, singing songs and hoping for a handout. In one of the towns we visited, as we walked along the marketplace, two vendors waving shirts at us from their neighboring stalls began shouting at each other in such a volume that a policeman came over and joined the shouting until a third vendor, a schoolteacher, came out from his stall and in a calm voice began to quiet them down. While this melee was going on, one of the vendors was pulling a shirt over my head, while the second was trying to have me look at his, and I was shouting (in somewhat muffled terms now), “I don’t want a shirt! We came for a purse for a friend!” The shopping dervish went certainly whirling around us.

But it was all in good spirit, because, once again, we had to remind ourselves, shopping by tourists was their main source of income. And, except for a farewell from our spare Egyptian pounds, we survived it unscathed, with our fists full of shirt, purse, wallet, a collection of coins and outdated pounds and stamps, hand-made wall hangings for Christmas gifts, and dried hibiscus flowers for tea, a national drink.

As all these experiences began to meld together in our minds, Aίda kept thinking of the verse in Psalm 91:11, “[The Lord’s] angels he will place over you to guard you in all your journeys [or paths, or way of life][1] ” Even the Evil One knows the truth about this verse and, as we read in Luke 4:10, tried to tempt Jesus with it. This is obviously not because Satan wanted to honor Jesus with this scriptural promise, but was hoping to break open the battle for supremacy by cajoling Jesus into following his own command to fulfill this scripture and thereby get Jesus to obey him and shift the power to his demands. Jesus, however, was not deceived by this faux piety, but rebuked the Devil, countering scripture with a scripture declaring God is not to be put to the test.

For us mortals a blessing here is that Jesus extends this promise to his followers as well. In John 17:11-12, Jesus’s great prayer for those who believe in him, he asks his Father to protect us, just as Jesus protected his disciples. In fact, all through the Bible, we see verses like Psalm 34:7, which promises the angel of the Lord camps around those who fear God and protects them, just as the Egyptians tried to protect us as we crossed their streets and we visited their ancient sites. We also see direct intervention by God in Peter’s ministry, when an angel sprung him from Herod’s prison in Acts 12, and in Paul’s journey to Rome for trial, when he was encouraged by an angel that he would be rescued in the coming shipwreck in Acts 27:23.

Sometimes, God sends other believers to help us, as Boaz did Ruth, as recorded in their book of love, and Ananias helped Paul regain his sight in Acts 9. Sometimes God sends others who are not yet believers in the gospel to our rescue as Cyrus helped Israel in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, and as the hospitable Egyptians helped us.

The point is that God’s promise to guide and protect us is not just wishful thinking. God does indeed have a life of service planned out for each true believer. For some of us, our lives are brief; for others, they are long. But always, even if we should suffer, God can and does intervene and send us help. And for these many times throughout our lives, we should all be very grateful.

Bill with Aída

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[1] Bill’s translation of the Hebrew text.

Why We Busted Up the House (monologue on Luke 5:17-26)

 Google image: www.karismatikkatolik.org or viverdedividendos.org

A monologue by one of the men who carried a paralyzed man through a roof to be healed by Jesus[1]

I put up roofs.  In fact, we all do.  Me and my buddies, that’s what we do.  We know roofs.  Like the one up over us here – like you got in this house? It’s a nice roof. 

I don’t remember puttin’ this one up.  But, it’s like all good roofs.  You see, you got the crossbeams, plastered over with clay – up there?  And then, inside, you got branches and mortar, see?  Now, this place where it happened had tiles on top.  I don’t think you got tiles, no offense.  I know it’s a little more pricy.  But you gotta understand, we got lots of nice places here in Capernaum, and this was a really nice place.

You can see it anytime you want, it’s on the other side of town, and the owner’s that wealthy farmer who tells everybody he’s related to Nahum, the guy our little city, Capernaum – the village of Nahum - is named for.   I don’t know, maybe he’s right.  He’s a nice guy and we’ve done a lot of work for him.  In fact, we built the roof in question, so we all knew it well.    Anyway, let me tell you what happened.

We had this buddy who’d been hurt.  See, we all grew up together and we all got into construction together, basically doing roofs, walls, small stuff – not like the temple or anything like that.  But, it did involve some second story stuff.  My friend Abel had this younger brother he wanted to get in the trade.  He was a nice enough young guy and we figured – “Sure why not?”

He was a big kid, about eighteen, just horsin’ around, like a lot of guys are at that age.  His dad worked down at the port, so he worked with him. The family had been in the fishin’ trade in their earlier years.

The kid, however, started hangin’ out after work with some of the rougher gang there and his dad was none too happy.  

Most of you here probably know that we got great fishing in the Sea of Galilee – you visitors might call it Lake Gennesaret?  It’s only 13 miles across but what you may not know is that this whole lake is at 700 feet below sea level; it’s in a big kind of basin.  That’s why it’s so rich in fish and sea life.

But, at the same time, you visitors also may not know, but we’ve got some big basalt hills on the northern side of town – and really steep hills hemming us in all around this whole area. It’s great, of course, for the farmers!  The hills help store up all the sunlight and the farms get their produce to market way before all the other towns. 

But it’s treacherous for the fishermen!    We get lots of rain and the hills trap in terrific storms with winds that seem to roar up from nowhere and can capsize boats at once!  That’s how this family lost their grandfather – drowned in the sea! 

So dad wasn’t all that keen on following up the family business.  He ended up working on the docks.  Abel, the oldest son, got in with us in construction and that was fine with dad,  who wanted to keep an eye on the younger son, so he had him work with him – you know, it wasn’t much of a family business anymore, but so they could bond up. 

The kid was a good hard worker when he worked and when he wasn’t out carousin’, ‘cause he was still basically a kid at heart.

Well, like I said, it wasn’t long before he was drinkin’ and partyin’ with the dockside crowd and when Abel suggested he might come work with us, dad was all for it.

So, we were working up in the hills on this really nice place  – it was like a mansion.  Another great house owned by a farmer – another successful land owner.  Maybe we’re in the wrong business!

But, anyway, the roof was flat, like nice houses are, and our new worker, the young guy, was over on the side plastering – not the side with the stairway, the other one without the stairs.

Well we had this scaffolding up, like we always do.  And he was on that.   

The kid was leaning out, smoothing the mortar at the edge, when suddenly the scaffolding cracked and then broke.  He swung out and then fell both stories, landing on his back.  It was awful.

We all rushed down.  He was completely out.  His brother was beside himself with emotion.  The kid had only been working with us for a week.   Abel kept crying, “I shoulda left him with dad.  I shoulda left him with dad.” 

Well, we managed to get him home.  His mom and sisters nursed him and we had a doctor in to see him, but the kid was all cracked up.  Pretty soon the doctor took Abel’s dad aside and just shook his head.  That was that.

Well, two years have gone by, but he still can’t move anything.  The kid is totally paralyzed.  Understandably, he’s sad all the time.  He was such an active kid.  “Why is God doing this to me?” he keeps asking.  “I know I was doing stuff I shouldn’t, but a lot of guys were doing that.  They’re still walkin’ around.”  I mean, what could anyone say.  We’re not Pharisees or scribes.  We don’t think we have all the answers. We’re just workin’ guys.

So things just dragged on like this…and then this new prophet Jesus sets up his headquarters here in Capernaum.  Hmmmm.

This Jesus is from Nazareth, the next big town just up the coast.  You must have been hearin’ about all these marvelous things he’s been doin’ just like we have, or you wouldn’t be here at this meetin’ today. 

Therefore, you probably know that the first big splash he made was here at Capernaum, after they ran him out of Nazareth for preaching a sermon in their synagogue they didn’t like?[2] 

  Well, he came right from there to here.  And immediately he heads on over to our synagogue.

Well, around our synagogue we got this guy whose family has been bringing him every Saturday and several weekdays hoping he would get healed.  None of our leaders had been able to do anything for him so far.  See, he had these evil spirits.  And sounded like a lot of them in there. Maybe some of you may have seen him, he was always slobberin’ and runnin’ around and actin’ crazy.  Yeah?  You seen him?  Then you know!  Any rate, Jesus shows up and this guy yells out, “Haaaa!  What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are – the Holy One of God!”   See it was the demons shoutin’ out of him.  They were always makin’ him say scary stuff.  Jesus just looks at him and says sternly, “Be quiet!”  Come out of him!”  And – bam! – down he goes and out they come.   And that was that!  Today?   He’s fine.

Well, next, Jesus goes to Simon the fisherman’s house.  All of us know Simon – Abel’s dad used to unload for him and his brother Andrew down at the docks when they had a particularly large catch.  That Simon.

Well, his mother-in-law was living with the family – a sweet, nurturing kind of woman.  She was runnin’ a high fever and everybody was worried for her life!  Jesus shows up – goodbye fever!

So now, everybody’s gettin’ in on the scene, bringin’ every sick person, every crazy person, every demoniac, every hurt person and Jesus is healin’ ‘em all – like one, two, three! 

Then he’s down at the lakeshore.  Everybody’s crowdin’ around him and he’s preachin’ away at ‘em.  When he gets done, he says to Simon, “Let’s sail over to the deep side and drop your nets in for a catch.”

Simon kinda looks at him and says something like, “Uhhh, Boss, the reason you’re preachin’ out of my boat is ‘cause we’ve been fishin’ all night and they’re not bitin’ today…”

Jesus just looks at him and nods like “yeahhhh…”

Simon says, “Okay, because it’s you sayin’ so, I’ll do it.”

Well, the second he lets the nets down these fish are like shoulderin’ each other aside to get in ‘em!  Okay, they don’t got shoulders – but you know what I mean – there are so many of ‘em, they’re threatening to break the nets!   Simon is shocked.  He falls on his knees and cries out, “Lord, I’m a sinful guy – you don’t want to be with me.”

Jesus just smiles and says, “Don’t be scared.  I’m going to make you a new kind of fisher.”  So, the next news we get, we discover Simon and his partners James and John are all travelin’ around with Jesus, doin’ the same kind of wonders.   They’re all workin’ for him now!

Then a leper shows up and everybody scatters, but Jesus heals him too, and the guy goes blabbin’ all over the area.

Well, I’m watchin’ all this, takin’ it in.  And I’m thinkin’, “Hmmm, Abel’s younger brother is hurt and he needs something bad.  He’s feelin’ terrible about consortin’ with the thugs and the sluts and what have you.   He’s just the kind of guy who needs Jesus.

Well, Jesus is on the road.  He’s off somewhere.  So, I’m bidin’ my time.  Just mullin’ it over.  I’m thinking, maybe they’re not gonna like this down at the synagogue.  I don’t know.   But Abel’s brother needs this bad.  I haven’t heard of any of them healin’ anybody lately.  So, if this Jesus can help, we should let him do it.

I wait for a while - and then suddenly he’s back.  The word is he’s stayin’ at the house of this rich farmer I know.  So, now’s the time!

Well, we were working on this warehouse right near where Abel’s dad has his wharf.  It’s lunch time and I tell the guys, “Let’s all go eat with Abel’s dad – I got an idea.”  They all wanta know what it is – but I’m not tellin’ anybody - not ‘till we get together with the dad.  Then I uncorked it.

Abel’s dad is a sweet old guy.  He didn’t tell me I was nuts, he just kind of breathed in and looked real troubled, then he kinda thought it over, real slow you know, and then he says, ‘I dunno. If it doesn’t work, the kid’ll be devastated.”

To this day, I don’t know where this came from, but all of a sudden I was filled with total assurance.  Just like that.  I was never so sure of anything in my life.  “Of course, it’ll work,” I said.  “Look what this Jesus did for Reuben, the demoniac.  What about Simon’s mother-in-law?  What about that guy with leprosy?”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard about all that,” said the dad.

Then Abel speaks right up, “Let’s go ask the kid, Pop.”

Well, we did, and Abel’s brother is immediately on it.  When we got there, of course, he was just layin’ down lookin’ sad, like always.  His younger sister Miriam was sittin’ with him.  He looks up and sees us and his face gets all happy.

“You hear about Jesus?” I ask, gettin’ right to the point.  Nobody calls me ‘Mister Subtle.’

“Oh, yeah,” says the kid.  “Who hasn’t?”

“Well,” says I, lettin’ it hang in the air.

“The kid’s a quick pick-up.  “You’re not sayin’ he would visit me here?”

“Nah!” I said, “We’ll take you there!”

“Whattaya mean?”

He’s just over at Simeon Ben Judah’s.  We know this guy.  We worked on his place.  Everybody comes over to hear Jesus there, whenever he’s in town.  Let’s take you there and he can heal you.”

“I dunno…” continues dad, looking intently at his younger son. 

“Sure, Pop,” says Abel.  “This wonderful prophet is healin’ all kinds of people with all kinds of things – why not junior?”

But Dad keeps talking to the kid:  “What if it doesn’t work, Son?  I don’t want it to kill you.”

“It’s not gonna kill me, Pop,” says the kid.  “This lyin’ around doin’ nothing – this is gonna kill me.”

“Honey,” says his Mom, speaking up for the first time and using that voice women have that is one part pleadin’ and one part command.  “We’ve got absolutely nothin’ to lose.”

“Can we, Pop,” asks the kid.  “Please?”   The mom starts cryin’.

“Of course!” says the dad, looking from one to the other.  “That’s exactly what we’re gonna do.”

“We’ll take care of this, Pop,” says Abel.  “Easy now guys.  He hasn’t been moved for a while.”  And he starts right there and then to pick up the head of the mat his brother’s laying on.  Joe, Jake, and I scurry over, each for a corner.

“Watch his eyes,” says Mother.  “He hasn’t been out in the direct sunlight for a while.”

 “Don’t worry, Mom,” replies Abel.

“We’ll all treat him like he’s our own brother.” I chime in.

“Of course,” says his mom, wipin’ away her tears.  “I love you boys and I know you love us.  We’re all like family.”

With four of us carryin’ him, it was so easy.  In fact, it was too easy.  He’d been big before, but he’d grown to be so slight.  I guess he wasn’t eatin’.  All the worry and being unable to move and now the depression, he was really wastin’ away in body and spirit.

As for getting there, all of us knew exactly where to go, but, even if we hadn’t, we still would have gone.  You could hear the noise a quarter mile off.  When we got there, the place was packed.  There were people millin’ around.  I mean, this was a big house for Capernaum, and Jesus was obviously in the upper room, because the crowd got really congested near it.  It was pretty spacious – I know, because we put the roof over it.  But, now people were sitting all the way up the stairway, tryin’ to listen in through the window and jam-packing the courtyard just trying to catch some sounds out of the window and you could see ‘em  hanging out that upstairs window – it’s amazing nobody fell out, they were so crammed in there.

There was no way we were going to get access off the stairs or any other way in, if there was any other way in.

“What are we gonna do,” Joe asked.

“Only one thing to do! “I said and shouted, “Gangway!  Look out! Coming through!”  And all four of us and the kid on the stretcher started up the outside stairs.  People were rollin’ to the right and left, as we kept comin’.  They woulda complained, but there were four of us burly construction workers, so they just bent over the rail to let us through and we trudged up and kept right on going – up to the roof!

“Easy does it now, fellas!” I said, “Just ease ‘em over the top.”

The roof, of course, was flat and we all climbed over on it.  It was also strong.  We do good work. 

I thought for a second.  “Somebody go down and spot where Jesus is,” I suggested.

“He’s about two thirds of the way in,” said Abel smugly.  “I figured out what you had in mind as soon as you started up the stairs with him.”

“Good thinkin’,” I said.  “That’d be right about here.”

“For those of you who don’t know, takin’ tiles off is a lot easier than you think.  The average house in our town is only about 18 feet.  Maybe 50 people can fit in it.  Our houses are mostly just one story, but this one was a little more spacious.  For one thing, it had these nice inter-locking tiles, so you pick one up off the other.  They’re easy to remove and there’s not as much in the way of sticks and mortar on the crossbeams underneath.  Okay, so I confess, I had been planning to do the roof from the beginning; that’s why I’d had Joe and Jake sling over their shoulders the ropes that we always use when we tie the scaffolding together.  These ropes were new and strong – since the accident we didn’t let any of our equipment get old.  So Joe began to thread the ropes under the bed and I began pulling off the tile.  “Let’s do this,” I said.

We made a human chain over to the side and handed the tiles from guy to guy.  The guys on the stairway pitched in.

Little bits of mortar and twigs began to shower down on the folks inside, but, since this was tiled, the rubbish was just a little, compared to most of their roofs which were nothing but sticks and mortar. Then, as soon as daylight started to pour in, and they figured out what was happening, the protests began. 

The owner started to shout somethin’, but, when he looked up through the hole and saw us, all he said was, “Oh, it’s you.”

“Yessir, Mister Ben Judah,” I called down.  “We got the kid here.  Don’t worry, we’ll fix this up better than new.”

“Of course,” he called back, “I know you will.”

So, easy, easy, Abel and Joe and Jake and myself, we let him gently down through the hole. We were going to tie him in, but he was so frail and fixed in position we didn’t really think it was necessary.  We weren’t going to drop him.  We had a light pallet on the bottom we’d used to carry him and the ropes were thread through the slats and up on each side, holdin’ him in.  Slowly, slowly we let him down – we’re experts at working together to raise and lower supplies.  We do this all the time.

Then, down through the opening, I saw Jesus for the first time.  He was a construction worker like me, a carpenter.  He was looking up, smiling.  Gently, we lowered the young brother until he touched the floor.  We could see him looking up at Jesus – his face shining with hope.

Jesus smiled right back at him and took in everything.  “Man!” he said to him, and I kind of think maybe to us, too.  “Your sins are forgiven!”

Wow!  What a reaction.  I mean, I hadn’t really taken that good a look at the people in the room, but I saw now some of them were prominent Pharisees in town and some experts on the law from the synagogue and some others were official looking teachers who looked like they’d come up from Jerusalem to check things out.

None of these guys were worrying about the fall-out from the roof now.  There was a whole different thing coming down here that had them all grumbling to each other.  I picked up several of them saying, “Who is this one who speaks blasphemy!  Who is empowered to forgive sins, except for the one God?” 

Uh oh.  I suddenly didn’t know if Jesus was gonna live long enough to heal Abel’s brother.

But Jesus didn’t even look like he needed to hear their complaints – it was like he was looking right into their minds, because, before they had done more than murmur to themselves, he said to them:  “What are you saying in your hearts?” 

He looked all of them over and picked a few of the leaders out and said directly to them, “Which is easier? To say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’”  It sounded like he was the judge and their actions were what was on trial!  What a guy!  But, you know, the Pharisees did have a point there.  I was just as shocked at what Jesus’d said as everybody else.  I mean, who can forgive sins except God?  But, before I had a chance to process this any further, he added, “But, in order that you may see that the Son of Humanity has authority upon the earth to forgive sins..,” then he turns to our young guy on the stretcher and says, “Therefore, I say to you – get up and, after you take up this mat, keep on walking till you go right into your house!”

And – can you believe it? – the kid gets up in front of all of us, snatches up the makeshift stretcher on which we’d just lowered him into the room, and stalks out the door for home, praising God.  I mean – he’d been laid up for two years – his muscles must have begun atrophying by now and he just picks himself up – not dizzy or nothing – and off he goes.  We were dumbstruck!

At the door he pauses and everybody falls back out of his way. He turns around waves at us, grinning from ear to ear, nods very respectfully to Jesus, and out the door he goes. He just left us all gaping there through the hole in the roof like Roman gargoyles made out of stone.

Next instant, the place is pandemonium.  We snatched up the new ropes. Everybody’s jabbering away - astonished.  All of us are praisin’ God and all of us are filled with fear.  Myself, I was terrified. 

Abel says to us all, “Guys, we have seen a strange, wonderful, remarkable thing today.”

He was right.  This is what I saw with my own eyes.  You wanta learn more?  Go ask the kid.  You can find him at Abel’s house.

What do I think?  Well, first I’m forever grateful for the healing of Abel’s brother – it not only restores a young guy to service to his family but it lifts a burden of guilt off of us four – the guilt we’d all been feeling about the accident.

But, this is not the main thing I’m left thinking about.  It was astonishing – yes!  But I’m thinkin’ about his power to forgive sins.  I’m askin’ myself – why did they run him out of the synagogue at Nazareth?  Did he say something like this and, if so, what does it mean?

I’m also asking the same thing the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were asking, but in a whole different manner and in a whole different tone: 

Who is this with the power to heal the feverish, the leper, the paralyzed?

And who is this who the demons fear and flee at his word?

And who is this who rules over nature so fish crowd into the net at his command?

And who is this who can do something only permitted to God – forgive sins?

In other words, who is this who has the unique power of God at his command?  Can he be other than who he says he is:  The child of Humanity, the Son of God?

And why did I get such an instant response of complete faith – where did that come from?

But, honestly, as I mull it over in my mind, I think, what else could my response have been other than to follow him myself?  I started by bustin’ up a house to get to him.  I ought to finish by asking him to remodel my life.[3] 

Bill

 

Photo Companion to the Bible: The Gospels www.BiblePlaces.com

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[1] Preached at Pilgrim Church, Beverly, MA, 2014.

[2] Luke 4:29.

[3] Sources consulted:  UBS4 Greek New Testament; J.E. Sanderson, “Capernaum” in R.K. Harrison, ed., Major Cities of the Biblical World (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1985); Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to Saint Luke, International Critical Commentary, 5^th ed. (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1922);  O.R. Sellers, “House” in George Arthur Buttrick, et al., The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1962); Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1993); William Steuart McBirnie, The Search for the Twelve Apostles (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1973).