Imagine it’s a Tuesday in a town called Capernaum. It is hot. Not just “sunscreen” hot, but “the-dust-is-burning-your-feet” hot.
In a tiny house, in a tiny room, lives a tiny man named Eli. Eli is paralysed. His legs don’t work. His world is the size of a rectangular mat on a dirt floor.
Eli has spent years looking at the same three cracks in the ceiling. He knows exactly how many minutes it takes for a shadow to move from the door to the window. Sometimes, Eli feels like he’s on a forgotten island. He feels like hope is something that happens to other people—people who can run, jump, and dance.
But Eli has something better than two legs. He has four friends. Let’s call them the “Team Hope.”
One morning, the town starts buzzing. “He’s here! The Teacher is here! The one who brings hope to the hopeless!” Jesus was in Capernaum.
“Team Hope” remembers Eli. The four friends don’t just send Eli a “Thinking of You” card. They don’t just say, “We’ll pray for you, buddy!” They run to his house. They look at Eli, they look at the mat, and then they look at each other. They didn’t even have to say it. They knew.
“You take that corner. You take that one. you grab that one and I’ll take this one. Let’s go.”
They lifted him up. One, two, three... up! They carried Eli through the narrow, crowded streets. Their shoulders ached. Their fingers were cramped. But they were “Team Hope” and not about to give up! They knew that if they could just get Eli to Jesus, everything would change.
But when they turned the last corner to the house where Jesus was... the road was blocked.
It wasn’t just a crowd. It was a wall of people. People were jammed into the doorway and out into the street. They were hanging out of the windows. There was no way a “stretcher” was getting through. People were grumpy and sweaty. And they weren’t moving.
“Step aside!” the friends shouted. “Wait your turn!” the crowd shouted back.
Some people would have looked at the crowd and said, “Well, Eli, we tried. Maybe next year at Big Camp 2027?” But Team Hope doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Hope doesn’t look for a way out, hope looks for a way in.
One of the friends looked up. “The roof,” he said. “Hey, guys! We’re going up!”
Imagine the sound inside the house. Jesus is teaching. Even though it’s crazy and loud outside, it’s quiet around Jesus. Because everyone is listening. Then, up above their heads... Scratch. Scrape. Rip! Dust starts falling. Clods of dirt land on a group of people and they move away. Then a slab of muddy straw lands in the new clearing in front of Jesus. There’s a huge hole in the ceiling! Sunlight pours in like a spotlight. And then, the most amazing thing happens. A man on a mat floats down from the sky on four ropes.
Four faces appear, one at the top of each rope. “Team Hope” leans over the edge, their faces red with effort, holding those ropes with everything they have. Their knuckles are white. Their muscles are shaking. But they are holding on tight.
Slowly, his four friends lowered Eli down, and he settled at the feet of Jesus.
Everyone leaned forward to see what Jesus would do. Jesus looked up at the four faces peering through the hole in the roof. The Bible says Jesus “saw their faith.” He didn’t just see Eli’s faith. He saw the “togetherness” of the friends. He saw that “Team Hope” loved Eli enough to ruin a roof just to find hope.
Jesus looked at Eli. “Friend,” He said, “your sins are forgiven. Now... stand up. Pick up your mat, and go home.”
Eli felt a tingle in his toes. He felt a spark in his knees. Then, suddenly, he stood up! He rolled up that dusty old mat, and he walked out the front door. The crowd that wouldn’t let him in? They parted like the Red Sea! A miracle had just happened!
Team Hope scrambled down from the roof and chased Eli down the street. They had a new mission - to catch Eli! He was way faster than any of them! He had miracle legs!
You know, sometimes, you’re like Eli. You feel stuck. You feel like you can’t get to Jesus on your own. And that’s okay! That’s why we have each other. We are Together in Hope.
And sometimes, you are part of Team Hope. You get to grab a corner of the mat for a friend. You get to climb on the roof for your friend. You get dig an opening to Jesus for your friend! There is no greater joy than helping a friend get to Jesus.
So whether you need help like Eli or are on Team Hope for a friend, you are part of a miracle. That’s what it means to be Together in Hope. Because whenever we carry each other, Jesus does miracles.
