"We've never seen anything like this." Imagine what it must have been like to be there in the crowd when Jesus told that paralysed man to get up, pick up his stretcher and go off home. And what had happened just before, when the man's four friends literally broke into the room where Jesus was, and Jesus had told him his sins were forgiven, and then He'd rebuked some educated men in the room who were scandalized at this. Imagine. Would I've been among those scandalized at this young teacher/preacher claiming God's power of forgiving sin? What proof was there? Well, He did heal the paralysis.

And I believe He can heal my paralysis too. So in the bad and sad times, when things go wrong, when health issues arise, a disappointment, sorrow, bereavement, when my soul feels dry and emptyˇKin these times I line up outside the door of the room where Jesus is, with all the others crowding round, wanting and asking to be healed.

But Jesus came to cure not just aches and pains and ailments but my heart and feelings, my behaviour, my way of living and thinking and judging, my flawed relationships with other people, with God my Father, with my own inner self. There aren't so many people lining up to ask forgiveness for sins, for failure to love.