We cannot triumph over all our troubles by sheer will power, but we can do what we can do. Each day, each moment, each hour, we can walk as best we can in the right direction—in other words, we can refuse to lie down again in our bed of weakness and despair. We can do our best to pay no attention to negative and unhealthy thoughts; we can treat others as we would have them treat us; we can keep our mouths shut when we are tempted to judge or condemn others; we can focus our energies on changing what we can change in our lives and relationships—and leave the rest in God’s hands. In other words, we should not think we are either totally paralyzed or completely healthy. We are somewhere in between, and the same Lord who conquered death itself constantly invites and enables us to greater strength and wholeness, to the joy of those who know that they really can move—step by step—more fully into the brilliant light of the Kingdom.
Fortunately, we do not have to wrestle with these problems as isolated individuals. We are blessed to participate in the life of Christ as members of His Body, the Church. And in the sacrament of confession, we are assured of God’s forgiveness and exhorted to give no further care to the sins which we have confessed. The paralyzing burden of our sins is lifted at confession; no, that does not mean that we are never tempted again or that we do not have to live with the consequences of our actions, but it does mean we hear the voice of Christ and feel the touch of His hand as He says, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” The sins which you have confessed are behind you. Do not return to them. Go forward with your life to the glory of God. Go and sin no more.
The point here is not legalism, but healing. For if we really want to be made well, we must open the paralysis of our souls on a regular basis to Christ the Great Physician, Who is present to us in His Body, the Church. And every time that we take confession, Christ in effect says to us, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
No one forces us to sin or to cower in fear before the difficult challenges of life; but it seems inevitable that we will at times be overcome by our passions and our problems. We are often like someone healed of paralysis who cannot escape the habit of staying in bed or cope very well with the challenges and struggles of his new life. So we lie down again in our bed of habitual sins and weaknesses. But fortunately for us, the Lord is merciful. He always asks us, “Do you want to be healed?” And if we respond with truthfulness and humility, He has compassion on us, and assures us of His forgiveness and strength.
So we rise, take up our bed, and walk. We may fall back into our paralysis, weakness, and fears more times than we can count. We may fall down ten thousand times, but Christ is always there to raise us up and give us a share in His eternal life. We probably do not see it in our own lives, but through this journey of humble repentance we do find healing. The course of our struggle is upward; the paralysis decreases; our souls are strengthened as we struggle to press forward in faithfulness; the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
And this is a vital part of the good news of Pascha. Despite the setbacks, despite the temptations, despite the burdens and obstacles that we and others place on our path, the glorious new day of God’s kingdom has dawned. Christ has raised all humanity, including us, from sin and death. No, our sharing in Christ’s salvation is not something magical that happens in an instant; like everything in creation, it takes time. And that is not because of God, but because of us.
So let us not only say “Christ is Risen!” this Paschal season; let us rise with Him, getting up from whatever sins have weighed us down, finding the strength in His resurrection to overcome our paralysis and weakness, to refuse to be shackled by fear, and move step by step, day by day, into the joy of His Kingdom. Now is the time to take up our beds and walk in the brilliant light of the empty tomb, for Christ is Risen!