.png)
"Jingle Bells" was written in 1875, making it the oldest secular Christmas song known. The second oldest is today's feature song which is loosely based on the 1822 poem, "A Visit From St. Nicholas" also commonly known as "The Night Before Christmas". It is the first Christmas Carol to be solely focused on Santa Claus.
Written by Benjamin Hanby, whose minister father was involved in the Underground Railroad, "Up On The House Top" is the most famous of the 80 songs penned by Hanby. It has been covered by a vast array of artists from Gene Autry to the Chipmunks to the Jackson 5, and most recently by Pentatonix on their second Christmas album. It is a staple in advertising during the Christmas season as evidenced by one of The Notes' favorite "eclectic" groups, Pomplamoose, in 2015's Hyundai commercial. Enjoy!!!
Maybe this scenario plays out at your house about this time every year. You drag out the Christmas lights, spend the week after Thanksgiving getting them untangled, and then you drag the "ladder to heaven" out to string them out on your roof. This culminates into such a festive display that it can be seen by most satellites as they circle the Earth. Perhaps this is the extreme case, but many folks spend part of their holidays making displays on the rooftops of their homes. I confess, I absolutely love all of the lights and join with many of our neighbors as we scan the streets of our town and enjoy the creativity and beautiful displays that celebrate (whether the creators of the displays realize it or not), THE Light of the world.
There was another housetop display that occurred many years ago.
Capernaum sits on the north side of the Sea of Galilee. While in Galilee, Jesus and the disciples used Capernaum as the center for their activities. Take a minute and visit Capernaum here: Capernaum: The Town Of Jesus Biblewalks.com
Mark tells us that shortly after Jesus got back home to Capernaum the word got out about the Word being back in town. As you can see in the pictures from Biblewalks, the homes at the time would have been reasonably small by our standards. Regardless of the size of the home, many people were gathered around to hear Jesus speak and to seek healing from His hands. One of those seeking healing was a paralytic on a bed who was carried by four men. There is very little known about these men, but one can surmise a few things from Mark's retelling of the story.
First of all these men had compassion. This probably was not the first time these men carried the paralyzed man on his bed. The narrative doesn't make it sound as if this was an out-of-the-ordinary occurrence. Even after seeing there was no way they would get past the crowd with their friend, they didn't give up.
Secondly, all of these men had faith. When Jesus begins the healing, Mark pronounces that He (Jesus) was impressed by THEIR bold faith. All five of these men understood who Jesus was and what He could do. They had no doubt that they must do whatever possible to get their friend to Him and by being in the presence of Jesus, the paralytic would be healed.
Thirdly, these men were creative in solving the problem before them. To this day, many of the homes in the Middle East are built with roofs that are not completely finished out. This is to allow for the children of the homeowners to build on top of their parents' homes when they get married. The benefits are seen by the strong families and familial ties in this region. Biblical times were not much different in that the roofs were constructed to be easily manipulated allowing for the renovation that would certainly come. When the men saw that they couldn't get close to Jesus through normal routes, they had to immediately devise a plan to have success. They climbed the stairs that would have led to the roof and began to dig through it. They created such a large opening that they were able to lower their friend down into the mass of folks gathered around Jesus. Impressed by their faith and compassion, Jesus healed the paralyzed man.
Finally, these men caused controversy. Religious leaders were also gathered to hear Jesus speak. Their motivations, however, were not compassion or faith. They were looking for ways to trap Jesus. They began to criticize under their breath as Jesus made the proclamation of healing, "You're sins are forgiven". "Who does He think He is? How can He go about forgiving sin?" commented the scribes under their breath. Obviously, they had no belief that Jesus was who He said He was or they wouldn't have been whispering in His presence. Jesus calls them out for their unbelief and hypocrisy. Jesus asks them what does it matter how it is said, as long as their faith is rewarded by granting the request? (Randy paraphrase). Jesus then goes one step further and says, have it your way, "Arise, take up your bed, and walk". To the amazement of many in the crowd, the paralyzed man did just that. He did not go out the same way he came in (In more than one perspective!!!).
Something you might notice about this passage. ALL of those who saw this healing were amazed and ALL of them praised God. This included those who were being so critical of Jesus.
Ho! Ho! Ho! Who wouldn't go? Today's Scripture shows us many things about the way we should be as believers today. This is the time of the year when it is seemingly a little bit easier to do everything possible to bring our friends to Jesus. We should do it because we know that once they are in the presence of Jesus they will not go out the same way they came in. They will be forever changed as they encounter the healing that Jesus provides through the forgiveness of sin. As we bring/carry/drive/transport in any way, folks to Jesus, we may have to be very creative in our approach, all the while leaving the basic goal of getting them to Him intact. When we become aggressive in bringing friends to Jesus, there will be criticism. However, when our friends are healed, ALL will praise and glorify the name we celebrate this season. So friend, the question still remains...Ho! Ho! Ho! Who wouldn't go...up on the house top, click, click, click...
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
No comments:
Post a Comment