NPR did a piece the other day, interviewing Amy Dickenson, one of the more syndicated advice columnists.  Though I only caught a bit of the show, it got me to thinking about advice – what makes it good and what makes it bad.  And then my brain asked the question: “What if Amy Dickenson had read today’s passage from Isaiah, especially it’s opening line:  “Remember not the events of the past.”  Would she think that is good advice?  Would that be a good idea in her mind?  I am convinced it is important to remember the story of the lives and loves that got you so far.  It is good to remember people’s birthdays.  It is good to remember to pay the bills.  But to “remember not the events of the past?”  Hmmm?! 

At one of the parishes where I was stationed, there was a retired priest emeritus, who lived in a nearby apartment but was still assigned to help at the parish.  During the 6 years I lived there, I would see Msgr. 2-3 times a month on Sundays.  In that entire time, I had two ‘PRESENT MOMENT’ conversations with him.  Once was when his car wouldn’t start.  And once was when he asked if I would drive him back to his apartment because the roads had become icy during the morning masses.  Every other conversation I ever had with him was about things that had happened 30-40 years ago.  And about people that had died 30-40 years ago.  And about events that happened during his days in the seminary.  But nothing about TODAY!  Nothing about the here and now.  I remember being sad for him and wondering what happened that caused him to kind of ‘stop living’ so many years ago.  And I hoped that he might read these words from Isaiah the prophet as good news: “Remember not the events of the past.”  God has still got things in store for you.  Don’t stop living your life because of what happened so many years ago.  It is done and gone.  “See, I am doing something new.”  But he seemed very much trapped in his past. 

I wonder if the paralyzed man on the matt had fallen to that same malady.  In my imagination, (so this is not scriptural scholarship here, but my own prayer imagination) a climbing accident had robbed him of his ability to walk.  He and his four buddies were doing something a bit risky – climbing onto roofs of buildings for a good view of the city, climbing on a rock formation that was a bit above their ability level.  He was the one who slipped and became paralyzed.  And that moment gets replayed over and over in his head.  He is absolutely stuck in the past, with no hope of his own to walk again.  His buddies are loyal and perhaps a bit guilty because of the circumstances around their friend’s paralysis. But when they hear about Jesus - it’s off to the races.   

“We’re going.”  “I don’t want to.”  “Too bad, it’s not about you.”  The crowd around the door was an obstacle for just a moment.  Climbing the roof, no problem – we’ve done it all our lives.  Putting a hole in the roof – we’ve been guilty of more mischief than that. Lowering him with ropes – got those in our climbing gear.  They were bound and determined to get their buddy to Jesus, because they were still hopeful, still believing that God could do something.   

And watch what Jesus does.  He recognizes THEIR FAITH.  And then he takes one look at the guy on the matt and realizes his biggest problem is not his legs, but his head.  He’s so trapped in the ‘accident’ – the not being able to forgive himself for the fall, that he is as paralyzed by that as by his broken legs.  So Jesus first forgives the broken spirit, the lack of hope, the “stuck-ness” in the past that keeps him down.  And then, to make sure that he completely gets that forgiveness is all about leaving the past behind and walking into newness – he tells him:  Rise, pick up your matt and walk.  Rise from whatever memories hold you bound and stuck in the past.  RISE AND WALK – because that is what I want for all my children.

Don’t we all get stuck sometimes in our past?  The hardest things to get beyond are the mistakes we make in relationships – the things which they know are their fault.  The word we want to take back, the ill timed phrase, the misdirected anger.  And we replay those over and over again.  My rule of thumb – if the thinking about it helps you process through and give you greater understanding going forward – then wonderful.  But if it traps you into endlessly repeating that moment in your head and paralyzes you, then know that is not of God.  It is not what God wants for you.  

It is a good thing “not to remember the events of the past.”  Especially when they are events that trap us in our past, keep us from the living God wants us to know, the loving and creating of the kingdom. In those instances, it is the best advice in the world.  Because God is always wanting and waiting to do something new in our lives.  “See, I am doing something new!”   That is the invitation of faith.  So if/wherever you are stuck, picture yourself in that scene – roof all opened up, and the matt coming down.  But now it is YOU on the matt.  And the same Jesus that looked at the hopeful faces of those four faithful friends and reached out to their friend now looks at you in the eye and commands you:  “From whatever paralyzes you and makes you stuck – RISE, PICK UP YOUR MATT, AND WALK!”