In the distant past when I was a kid we had television shows and movies about traveling forwards or backwards in time. The stories often had crazy inventors who created time machines and then the adventure would take place either in some distant future, like 2011, or in the past. The hero would be dropped into some impossible situation in a different time and space and have to negotiate all sorts of crises and dangers and we observed it all as distant witnesses.
To try to understand today’s gospel lesson, I would first like to take us in a time machine back into Jesus times. In those days it was commonly believed that sickness was the direct result of sin. When we hear the story about the man born blind the disciples ask Jesus “who sinned, this man or his parents.” Jesus’ answer was: “Neither!” This was contrary to the common belief.  And so Jesus explains that the man was born blind so that God’s power could be shown to the people.  This was shown to the people through Jesus which is what caused such consternation among the religious leaders. In today’s story we are confronted with the same issue only this time it is understood that the paralytic did sin in some unknown way and Jesus forgives this sin. In so doing, he sends the scribes into a tizzy because the view of the religious authorities was that only God could forgive sins. And who was Jesus to do this!
A remnant of this understanding survives in our various liturgical celebrations that include asking for forgiveness, such as Forgiveness Sunday before Great Lent or at every Divine Liturgy when the priest before he takes communion comes before the people and asks for forgiveness. And what do we say? God forgives! We can forgive, but we are simply adding our assent to what is really being done by God. Sin after all is a break with God and repairing that break comes from God. And that break with God can manifest itself in many ways including how we treat others – who are made in the image of God.
As Christians in the 21st century, we understand that our faith affirms that God’s power to forgive sins resides in Jesus [are we not asking for this when we say the Jesus prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner?”]. And so what truly bothered the scribes in Jesus’ day -- so much so that they accused Jesus of blaspheming God -- does not have the same impact on us today. And Jesus, when challenged by the scribes replies with a question: “which is easier to say, your sins are forgiven or rise and walk?” To forgive the sin was to effect the healing. The command to rise and walk was to activate the change in the man. To make his point perfectly clear Jesus addresses three great imperatives to the paralytic: “Rise; lift up your bed and go to your house.”
First the paralytic is commanded to rise, to stand up on his own power. He was borne to the scene by the charity of the hands of others, but now he is empowered to become fully human, fully himself.  Second he is told to “lift up your bed.” This enables the man to take his own life in hand just as he takes up the pallet which only moments before was carrying him. Finally, “go to your house” gives him the freedom to go home and be fully himself. Jesus is not demanding that he follow him. He’s not looking for sycophants. He is offering the paralytic [and us] the grace to be fully human. In fact we have no idea what ultimately happens to this man, we only know that Jesus has given him back his life, restored him to life. Here is does this for one man, at the resurrection he does if for all humanity, restoring Adam to life and then to life eternal.
Since today is the feast day of Boris and Gleb, two early and highly regarded Russian saints, let us take our time machine to the Russian steppe in the 11th century, 1015 to be exact. Christ’s message of new life was only recently planted in their country and confirmed by their father Prince Vladimir. The message made such an impression on these two brothers who were in line to succeed their father to the throne, that they allowed themselves to be slain by their eldest brother Svyatopolk in his lust for power. So strong was their acceptance of Christ’s message of eternal life that they were able to forsake this life and forgive their brother even as his agents slew them.
Do we have to take a ride in a time machine to find men and women of such faith? A faith that enabled Boris and Gleb to forgive their brother his outrage against them. A faith that mirrored Christ’s forgiveness of his executioners. Can we look around us today to see comparable faith in people we know? Or in ourselves? A faith that enables us to forgive as God understands it. To believe that our words and acts of forgiveness are extensions of God’s forgiveness. Such forgiveness challenges us to look beyond our egos and insecurities to see that there is a cost exacted for our forgiveness. And even though that cost has been paid for by Christ, we too are called to participate in it and finally to be carried by Christ through it to a healing that is liberating and eternal.  Now that will be the ultimate time machine ride!