Mt 7:1-5 Parable of The Sick Man

Mt 7:1-5  Parable of The Sick Man

(Click here for readings)

Jesus said to his disciples:  “Stop judging, that you may not be judged.  For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.”

On July 4^th, 2050, the American Medical Association came together for the last time.  A few months before, all hospitals and clinics were ordered shut for good.  After all, it had been years since anyone had been sick.  Yes, people continued to die, but they died for natural reasons. 

But a few years later, out of nowhere, came a young man who believed he was sick.  And since there were no longer any hospitals or clinics to go to, he would often wait outside the home of an elderly man who was once a doctor. 

“Doctor, I need to see you!” cried the young man standing in front of the shut door.  The elderly gentleman opened it and gently said to the poor fellow:  “Go home my dear child, go home.  You are not sick.  You are simply dying.” 

“I know I am dying”, said the young man.  “But I am too young to die.” 

The good humored man, full of wisdom and years, chuckled and said: “What is age? ...It is a human invention.  Besides, were we not born to die?” 

Saddened, the young man responded, “Yes doctor, but the aches and pains are becoming unbearable.  I can’t take it anymore.” 

With scientific love and a hand gently placed upon the frightened man’s shoulder, the former doctor replied:  “Aches and pains are a very natural thing my dear child.  They are becoming worse simply because the cancer is finally spreading, that’s all.” 

“But can it not be stopped???  I am too young to die!” 

“You are not too young to die…You are dying at the right moment.  You are being who you are.  You are living the way you were meant to live.  You see, you were born with a predisposition for cancer.  That’s all.  It’s not an illness, unless you consider old age or even life as an illness.  It’s who we are.  It’s who you are.  Accept it!  Embrace it!  This was our great discovery long ago.  The APA (American Psychological Association) got it right before we did, and just like them, we ended all illness by accepting it and, most importantly, by embracing it.  We are no longer weighed down by the enormous pressure to cure and to be cured.  Family and friends no longer have to be burdened by another’s illness.  We are free from insurance, mandates, bills and fees and pre-existing conditions.  Do you realize how good this is?  Your death will mean the end of all your aches and pains and all feelings of guilt and remorse.  In fact, it will be the end to all your feelings.  Come now…Just be who you are and bear with the days you have left.  You are not sick, my dear child, you are human.  Now go and rest in peace.”

The young men turned around and slowly walked away.  All along he kept saying to himself, “But something isn’t right here.  Something inside of me keeps telling me the opposite.”

As the young man turned back one last time, the doctor said aloud, “You’re fine…You don’t need a doctor.  You need a change in attitude.  Attitude can make everything right.  Accept this dear child.  Accept this for your own good.”     

Stop judging.   The Lord demands that we stop judging.  The reasons for it are obvious:  (1) we tend to judge harshly and incorrectly and (2) we tend to judge according to our standard rather than His. 

The problem with our standard is that it keeps changing with time.  And, given enough time (and the wrong people in a position of authority), what was once judged wrong can easily become right.  And what was once considered good can quickly become bad.  

The Lord is not asking us to stop judging.  He is not demanding that teachers stop grading papers or giving out report cards.  He is not asking judges to stop handing down sentences or giving out awards.   What He is asking is that we judge correctly, according to His standard; that is, His law, His word, Christ’s Love; that we judge honestly, mercifully and lovingly.  And to do so, we must see things clearly. 

The moral of my parable is simple.  The worst thing that could ever happen to us is not that we are denied treatment, but rather, we are told we are not sick.  We are sick!  We are sinners!  We all need a doctor, a Savior, Jesus Christ.  The means to our salvation is the forgiveness of our sins.  But if we are told that we are not sinners, then we will surely die in our sins.  All hell will break loose! 

Teachers that accept bribes will grade unfairly.  Corrupt judges will let the innocent man die.  Sinners will insist all sins are nonsense.  If we do not see clearly, we will never judge wisely. 

All hell would have broken loose if Christ did not pull the wooden beam from our own eye and carry it for our salvation.

We know how God judges:  with a lot of patience and with the patient in mind.  We know how we must judge:  through self-examination and with the Greatest Doctor in mind.