A Mat Carrying Community

Scripture — Mark 2:3-5 (NRSV)

Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Devotion

In last Wednesday’s Life for Leaders devotion, I began to reflect on the story in Mark 2:1-12, in which four men carried a paralyzed man on a mat, lowering him to Jesus through a hole they made in the roof. In response to “their faith,” Jesus forgave the paralyzed man and healed his body.

As I was thinking about how this story relates to our work, I consulted, as I so often do, the Theology of Work online commentary. What I read there was both fascinating and compelling. So, rather than reword it, I’m going to quote liberally from the commentary on Mark 2:1-12.

The story of Jesus healing the paralytic man raises the question of what the theology of work means for those who do not have the ability to work. The paralytic man, prior to this healing, is incapable of self-supporting work. As such, he is dependent on the grace and compassion of those around him for his daily survival. Jesus is impressed by the faith of the man’s friends. Their faith is active, showing care, compassion, and friendship to someone who was excluded from both the financial and relational rewards of work. In their faith, there is no separation between being and doing.

Jesus sees their effort as an act of collective faith. “When Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven’” (Mark 2:5). Regrettably, the community of faith plays a vanishingly small role in most Christians’ work lives in the modern West. Even if we receive help and encouragement for the workplace from our church, it is almost certain to be individual help and encouragement. In earlier times, most Christians worked alongside the same people they went to church with, so churches could easily apply the Scriptures to the shared occupations of labourers, farmers, and householders. In contrast, Western Christians today seldom work in the same locations as others in the same church. Nonetheless, today’s Christians often work in the same types of jobs as others in their faith communities. So there could be an opportunity to share their work challenges and opportunities with other believers in similar occupations. Yet this seldom happens. Unless we find a way for groups of Christian workers to support one another, grow together, and develop some kind of work-related Christian community, we miss out on the communal nature of faith that is so essential in Mark 2:3-12.

In this brief episode, then, we observe three things: (1) work is intended to benefit those who can’t support themselves through work, as well as those who can; (2) faith and work are not separated as being and doing, but are integrated into action empowered by God; and 3) work done in faith cries out for a community of faith to support it.”

I find this section from the Theology of Work commentary most insightful. I’m especially challenged by the question of how we, as disciples of Jesus, or as members of the body of Christ, can support each other in our work.

Two examples from my life come quickly to mind. First, back when I was a parish pastor in Southern California, I was in a small group with several other pastors. We met together monthly for about ten years. In our meetings we would support each other personally, praying for issues of family, health, and so forth. But we would also support each other concerning our work. We’d share our challenges, worries, hopes, and even victories. We’d encourage each other, hold each other accountable, and always pray for our work as pastors. This supportive community was essential to my flourishing in my work.

The second example is a current one. I am in a group of men who are all about my age. Most are retired or nearing retirement, though they are plenty busy in a variety of work settings, including business, family, church, etc. We meet monthly via Zoom because we’re spread across the country. We talk about all aspects of our lives, though paying particular attention to our sense of purpose in this season of life. Though we may not be working full time anymore, we are all working and want our work to make a difference in the world. This group, by the way, includes only two pastors. Most members are from the professional worlds of business and/or education.

No matter whether we’re working for pay or not, we all need a community of “mat carriers” to help us flourish in our work and all of life. In this community we will both receive and offer mat-carrying support to others. In particular, we will “carry” them to Jesus through our listening, sharing, and, most of all, praying.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project’s online commentary. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: The Paralytic Man (Mark 2:1-12).