How to Serve the Role of Accessibility?

One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, ‘Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, ‘Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’ So he said to the paralyzed man, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God (Luke 5:17-25, NIV).

This passage is well-known for the four friends who brought their bed-bound friend to Jesus by lowering the bed into the middle of the people, right in front of Jesus where he was teaching. Mark narrates the same story and mentions that four friends brought the man with disability (Mark 2:1-12). The main themes of Luke’s narrative are on the physical and spiritual healing released by Jesus: forgiving the sin of the paralytic man and healing his paralysis. These healings demonstrated the lordship and deity of Jesus Christ and infuriated the crowd who could not accept Jesus as God. 

Well, another theme that is often neglected in this passage is the significance of the role of the four friends, serving the role of accessibility to Jesus. The paralytic man was not able to access Jesus by himself. He did not have enough strength to get up from his mat to meet him in person. Interestingly, Luke does not indicate anything about the family of the man. His family was probably his primary caregivers, providing the daily and necessary care for him. For some reason, they were not with the man. Did they not believe in the stories of the miracles executed by Jesus? Were they too tired of caregiving or carrying him on the mat? However, the four friends chose to serve the role of accessibility to Jesus, by bringing the man to him, and Jesus did what he does the best.

Accessibility means the quality of being easy to approach, reach, enter, speak with, use, or understand. Transportation in boats, land vehicles, and eventually aircraft dramatically increased the accessibility of most locations on the planet.

Then, how were they able to serve the role? First, their friendship overcame fear. The negative conception of disability existed during that time and probably in the thoughts of the four friends as well. Disability was considered as a curse, transmittable misfortune, bad luck, expression of gods’ anger, result of individual or family sin, and other negative factors. It was religiously, culturally, and socially condemned, excluded, and devalued. Luke does not explain the relationship between the man and his four friends explicitly, but their action demonstrates the beauty and strength of their friendship, which was more concerned with the wellbeing of their friend with disability. Their friendship was extended to do what was best for him and overcame the fear of taboo, possible disadvantages, and public ridicule and condemnation.

Second, their faith in Jesus moved them to act. There were three groups of people in the scene: the man with paralysis, his friends, and the crowd of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. The four friends wanted to lay their friend before Jesus but “they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd” (v. 19). The people were like barriers for the man to meet  Jesus, for the friends had to go through the roof. Interestingly, the four friends had faith in Jesus which was perceived by him: “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven’” (v. 20). Their faith moved them. Their faith moved Jesus to release the spiritual and physical healing. Is our faith moving us? Is it moving us to Jesus every day and closer to him? Is it moving us to move people closer to Jesus? Are we fulfilling the role of accessibility? Or, are we being obstacles for others to access Jesus? Surely, our inaction is still action. Our inaction can become a barrier, just like the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Will we become the barrier or accessibility to Jesus.

This role of accessibility is a way to accomplish our great commission, which is to make disciples of all nations and to be an access to the only Savior of the world and the only way to the Father. We do not and cannot save people. We simply and humbly become the accessibility between the world and Jesus, by sharing his love in words and actions. Carrying out this role of accessibility challenges us in a number of ways, especially in the context of reaching out to people with disabilities. The barrier between people with and without disabilities has been wider and higher these days, as non-Christians with disabilities find churches not welcoming and hospitable. Without putting an extra effort, it will continuously draw us apart; miscommunication, bias, anxiety, and distrust will further strengthen the barrier. However, in the name of Jesus Christ, it can be demolished and collapsed just like the wall of Jericho.

Just as God commanded Israelites to encircle the wall of Jericho and to trust that he would do the work, we need to do our part by being the accessibility between people with disabilities and God. We do this by treating them with utmost respect, loving them with Christ like love, and walking with them. I understand they are somewhat too general to apply to real settings. Therefore, I attach the following note written by an anonymous author. Please pay attention to the things that the author appreciates and apply them to your relationship with people with disabilities:

Blessed are you who take time to listen to difficult speech, for you help us persevere until we are understood. Blessed are you who walk with us in public spaces and ignore the stare of strangers, for we find havens of relaxation in your companionship. Blessed are you who never bid us to “hurry up,” and more blessed are you who do not snatch our tasks from our hands to do them for us, for often we need time—rather than help. Blessed are you who stand beside us as we enter new and untried ventures, for the delight we feel when we surprise you outweighs all the frustrating failures. Blessed are you who ask for our help, for our greatest need is to be needed.

I believe we can break the barrier by serving our role of accessibility.