Tuesday, November 3, 2009

I Heard That

John 5:1-15

The ill man daily sat next to the water hoping, but never knowing, when or if he'll make it.
Maybe today, he thinks. Maybe today will be my lucky day.
There is a small measure - very small - of hope in this situation. Years will go by - 38 of them. Nothing has changed - he's still the same. Maybe tomorrow.
There is just enough hope to say, "maybe tomorrow." To keep you going or staying close to that source of possible fulfillment. Always at least a small measure of anxiety though.
I hope I get there first. I hope it will happen to me. All will be well THEN.
Maybe tomorrow.

Enter Jesus. There comes a time when Jesus speaks into your life. "Do you wish to get well?"
It seems like a useless question on the surface. Everything in the story suggests that the man would wish to get well. But the question challenges the aging man's perception of where health actually comes from.

The man, at the beginning, cannot move out of his thought rut. You see, he has thought the same thing for years. That same thought. . . "get in the water." It's hard to break out of that. Yes, it is hard to see beyond what you see.
Jesus loves him.

Jesus filled with compassion upon this man - he, being in this a so weak and humiliating and despicable situation - simply and abruptly moves him in a bigger way,
"Get up . ."