Meditation for 11 March 2009

From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

John 5:2-18

2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Bethzatha, which has five porticoes.  3 In these lay many invalids - blind, lame, and paralyzed.  [What would be verse 4 is not found in the best manuscripts of the Bible, and was probably not part of the original Gospel of John, but added later.]   5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.  6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there for a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  7 The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me."  8 Jesus said to him, "Stand up, take your mat and walk."  9 At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

Now that day was a sabbath.  10 So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, "It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."  11 But he answered them, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'"  12 They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take it up and walk'?"  13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there.  14 Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you have been made well!  Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you."  15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  16 Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he was doing such things on the sabbath.  17 But Jesus answered them, "My Father is still working, and I also am working."  18 For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.

An Amazing Healing Story

There is way more going on in this story than can be addressed in one meditation.  Things like the law vs. the spirit of the law, rigid self-justifying behavior vs. compassion, the new teaching of this rabbi who spoke of God as his Father ("Abba", which is an affectionate form of address like "Papa" or "Daddy"; cf. "The Lord's Prayer" in Matthew 6:9 ff.)  What I'd like to focus on, however, is the healing itself.

Imagine being ill for 38 years!  Wow!  That would be like me being ill from age 13 until now!  Imagine the burden of that, the frustration, the potential for discouragement and anger and resentment.  And then imagine all of that during Jesus' time, when such people were almost certainly relegated to a life and a lifestyle of begging.  This man has already accomplished a lot if he has held on to hope, and not given into despair, especially after this many years!  And evidently this pool near which he often hung out had some healing powers - at least on certain occasions.  But when the waters got stirred up, other (i.e., more mobile) people got to the waters before he did, and by the time he got to the water, even if they had been healed, nothing changed for him.  How frustrating would that be?

One day, after these 38 years of illness, Jesus saw him lying there, and knew - somehow Jesus just knew - that this man had been there for a long time.  And he asked him a simple, direct question.  "Do you want to be made well?"  In a way, the man did not answer the question directly.  He didn't just say, "Yes, sir, I do.  I really do."  In another way, though, he did answer the question, as he told Jesus of his unsuccessful attempts to get down to the stirred up waters in a timely fashion.

Jesus then responds, "Stand up, take your mat and walk."

What do you think went through this man's head as he heard that?  Did he think, "38 years!  Could this be my day?"  Did he think, "Who is this guy?  What about the pool?  Is he asking me to walk down to the pool, when I just explained that I can't walk to the pool?  Did he think, "I don't know who this guy is, but what have I got to lose?  He stopped to talk to me, which is more than what 98% of the people do, and he has a certain authority about him, and he has a look of compassion in his eyes like I've never seen before, and oh - what the heck - I think I'll try to stand up and walk."

And he stood up.  And his body felt strong and whole, like it hadn't felt in 38 years!  And by the time he reached down to pick up his mat, and looked up, Jesus was gone.  What do you do now?  The man who addressed you said, "Walk."  Where should he walk?  Should he walk up to the first stranger he sees and tell him/her what had just happened?  Should he go find his relatives and tell them?  Should you go buy a drink to celebrate?  What would you do?  This man evidently walked to the temple, which wasn't very far away.  He knew that he wanted to thank God, and that the place to do that was in the temple.

On the way to the temple, he was intercepted by some Jewish religious leaders, who accosted him about carrying his mat on the sabbath.  A conversation - not a very satisfactory one, from the man's perspective, no doubt - transpired.  No, he didn't know who the man was who healed him and who told him to take up his mat and walk.  But after he got to the temple, Jesus found him there.  They had a brief exchange, and Jesus told him his name.  The man then told the Jewish authorities that it was Jesus who healed him, and they went after Jesus.  It was just the beginning of their going after him, it turned out.

Is there anything in this amazing healing story that may apply to us?  Maybe we are left to wrestle with some questions.

Is there something that has held me back or limited me for years, that I am still struggling with?  If so, do I want to be made well?  Whether it's a disabling fear... or a destructive attitude (like resentment or jealousy)... or a tendency toward violent words or actions... or some kind of addiction or compulsion... or a spirit that is quick to judge and condemn others... or a physical challenge... or a deep resistance to leading a creative, passionate, abundant life... or a general resistance to looking at the "shadow" parts of myself... do I want to be made well?  Or does part of me want to keep on doing what I'm doing (i.e., I don't really want to be made well)?  Or do I not believe that God can heal me?

On the other hand, have I been healed and given new life by God in some very real way?  And if so, am I grateful to God?  Am I sharing that story of healing with others?  Am I "living out" my gratitude in ways that give back to others?  Am I trying, with the help of the Spirit that lives inside of me, to be compassionate, in the same way that God has been compassionate towards me?

This is an amazing healing story.  But you and I have also experienced amazing healing stories - thanks be to God!  May we share those with each other, and make the most of our opportunities to be compassionate, as we have been on the receiving end of God's compassion.