{"id":15506,"date":"2017-07-18T16:46:20","date_gmt":"2017-07-18T20:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=15506"},"modified":"2019-12-23T11:27:38","modified_gmt":"2019-12-23T15:27:38","slug":"you-were-there-71617","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=15506","title":{"rendered":"You Were There! (Camp Meeting, 7\/16\/17)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rev. Jim Hughes<\/span><\/a> has a unique ministry where he dresses up as a Biblical character and gives a first person account of what he lived through; of how he saw God or walked with Jesus.\u00a0 Over the years at the Pitman Camp Meeting we’ve seen him portray characters such as Judas, Peter, and John.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Some of those costumes were pretty heavy.\u00a0 And on a warm July night in the Grove Auditorium, they can be pretty uncomfortable.\u00a0 There have been evenings where his performance cost him 5-10 pounds from perspiration.<\/p>\n

But tonight, we couldn’t blame him\u00a0 for keeping his wardrobe simple and light.\u00a0 When he appeared, he was costume consisted of only a hat and a cane.\u00a0 He began talking about something that is recorded in Mark chapter 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He began speaking about Peter’s house and described how a house of that time would have looked.\u00a0 But as he started describing how things started to fall from the ceiling and as holes began to appear from above, it was clear he was speaking about the healing of the paralytic.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You’re probably familiar with this passage.\u00a0 If you need a refresher, open the below box to read Mark 2:1-12.<\/p>\n

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Mark 2:1-12<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\u00a0 2 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home.\u00a0 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them,\u00a0 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat.\u00a0 They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus.<\/p>\n

5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”\u00a0 But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves,\u00a0 “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”<\/p>\n

8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?\u00a0 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’?\u00a0 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”<\/p>\n

12 And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

But who was this man with the hat and cane?\u00a0 He was speaking about this event as an eye witness.\u00a0 But who was he?\u00a0 Was he Peter?\u00a0 Was he one of the disciples?\u00a0 Or was he the paralytic?\u00a0 Maybe his cane was an indication of some lingering effects of his years on the mat.<\/p>\n

But as the story went on, it was clear\u00a0 that he was none of these.\u00a0 In fact, it turns out that the Bible doesn’t even mention this character.\u00a0 But, he was there.<\/p>\n

When this miraculous healing took place, the man standing before us was only a child.\u00a0 He had heard about this Jesus, and he heard that he was going to be in this house.\u00a0 But when he arrived, it was jammed packed.\u00a0 The adults of the community closed ranks as he tried to squeeze past them.\u00a0 He just wanted to get close enough to see this Jesus.\u00a0 As he consistently made his way forward, finding any gap in the crowd that he could squeeze through, he got close enough to the front\u00a0 of the room to notice all of the “important people” and religious leaders who were sitting in the front row.\u00a0 First class section.\u00a0 But he was only a small boy… flying coach (or even less).<\/p>\n

But he felt the pieces of the ceiling as particles began dusting his head.\u00a0 As the pieces got bigger and bigger, everyone’s attention was drawn to the ceiling.\u00a0 Even Jesus had to stop His teaching.\u00a0 He watched with love (and maybe even some amusement) as the holes in the ceiling got bigger and bigger.\u00a0 Eventually the small holes merged into an opening large enough for a man to fit through, and the light streaming through the opening was blotted out as a mat appeared.\u00a0 The hands and arms of four friends were visible as the ropes lowered the paralyzed man towards Jesus, stopping at chest level.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Fishermen on the Sea of Galilee<\/p><\/div>\n

Jesus knew what was happening.\u00a0 He knew their hearts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the rest of people had other thoughts.\u00a0 Peter had spent a lot of time preparing his home so that he could host Jesus.\u00a0 He was pretty upset about the damage.\u00a0\u00a0 The important people on the front bench bristled with indignation.\u00a0 How could this teacher allow such irreverence?!?\u00a0 The adults in the room were annoyed at the interruption (after all, they had arrived early enough to get a good place to watch.\u00a0 They<\/em> didn’t have to barge in).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jesus did something amazing- He forgave the man’s sins!\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the important people and the adults weren’t able to accept that.\u00a0 So Jesus gave them additional proof; proof that was actually much less significant than forgiving the man’s sins.\u00a0 After telling the paralytic that his sins were forgiven, Jesus healed him.\u00a0 The twisted spine snapped into position.\u00a0 The legs that hadn’t been used for many years suddenly grew muscles.\u00a0 And perhaps with some initially wobbly motions, the paralytic maneuvered himself off of the mat.\u00a0 For the first time he stood on his own two feet.\u00a0 For the first time, he had an identity deeper than just “The Paralytic.”\u00a0 He had spent\u00a0 a lifetime looking upwards, but this time, as he peered through the hole in the ceiling, he could see the tears of his four friends who had a bird’s eye view of God’s love and Jesus’ compassion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Were YOU There?<\/span><\/h3>\n

The man before us concluded his story by looking at us and remarking, “But you look familiar.\u00a0 Haven’t we met before?\u00a0 I’m sure I’ve seen you.”<\/p>\n

Weren’t you there that day?\u00a0 Who were\u00a0 you???<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

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