Matthew 9:2 “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

What do you hope to find when you come to church on Sunday morning? Maybe some of you come hoping to pick up helpful tidbits on how to manage your out-of-control life. Maybe you come hoping to find a little inspiration, something to pick you up after a week of office politics, and whiney kids, and home repair projects gone sour.

Maybe you come for the people– your church has become your personal answer to the longing described in the theme song for the TV series Cheers: “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came, you want to be where you can see our troubles are all the same; You want to be where everybody knows your name.”

 And you can find some of all of that, I hope. But that is not where Sunday worship begins. Week after week, after singing an opening hymn, Lutherans start in the same place. We confess our sins, and the pastor, speaking for our Savior, forgives them. This is how it goes week after week, 52 Sundays per year. We start with forgiveness, and then we look to our Lord for the other things he has to offer.

Jesus did it the same way with the paralyzed man they brought to him. Before he did anything else, he forgave his sins. In doing so, he was teaching us something about our spiritual priorities, or rather, his spiritual priorities. By forgiving sins, he is seeing to our deepest personal needs.

Jesus calls this man “son,” literally “child” in the Greek. Maybe something inside of us rebels at being referred to that way. “Child” can make us feel incompetent, dependent, and needy. “Child” makes us feel like we can’t take care of ourselves.

But that is just how we need to feel. Spiritually, that is what we are like. Then we are ready to receive what God is giving. I have often thought that 4 years old is about the perfect age to be. So little is expected and so much is received. When I was 4 my parents took care of everything. They paid the bills, put the food on the table, put the Band-Aids on my owies, and tucked me into bed at night. They watched me to make sure that I was safe, carried me when I was tired, and held me when I was scared. I was the object of their affection, the center of their concern. Being 4 years old wasn’t too bad.

Children of God, you are the objects of his affection and the center of his concern. As children in his family, you can be sure that he is there to take care of everything. Do you know why you can be so sure? Because he forgives all your sins. This is where he starts with you. This same Jesus has taken every one of them with him to the cross. No sin stands between you anymore. You enjoy your Savior’s unchanging and unlimited love. No matter how many hurts and heartaches lay you flat on your back, you can be sure he loves you .