Easter 6 2013
Father Adam Trambley
May 5, 2013, St. John’s Sharon
Do You Want to be Made Well?
In
today’s Gospel, Jesus goes up to Jerusalem for a festival, as good Jews would
have done. He comes to the pool
Beth-zatha, sometimes called Bethesda, which where the Bethesda hospitals get
their name. The blind, the lame and the
paralyzed are all there. According to
the thinking of that time, every so often the water would be stirred up by
angels, and the people who entered the water while it was agitated would be
healed.
Jesus
walks by a man who had obviously been lying there a long time. Gratefully, scripture does not describe in detail
the symptoms Jesus saw indicating just how long he had been in that place, but
if you ask a home health nurse, I’m sure they could tell you. (You just don’t
want to ask them over lunch.) Jesus, who
is fearless when it comes to human infirmities, walks up to the man and asks,
“Do you want to be made well?”
Simple
question. “Yes” or “no” answer. Not hard to figure out, since the guy has
been stuck there a long time.
“Do you
want to be made well?” Guess what? The invalid doesn’t say “yes.” “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.” Dude, you’re being
asked if you want to be well and your only response is a list of reasons why
you are still sick. Jesus decides to
heal him anyway, and says, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” Immediately the invalid is made well, he
picks up his mat and walks away. Not
surprisingly, Jesus doesn’t add, “Your faith has made you well.”
Now
maybe it sounds like I’m picking on this poor invalid who was stuck just far
enough away from the water for who knows how long. And maybe I am. But the story continues after Jesus heals him
on the Sabbath. The Jewish leadership
finds him and wants to know why he is carrying his mat on the Sabbath. He tells them it was the fault of the guy who
healed him, whose name he doesn’t know.
Then he stumbles into Jesus later, and when he finds out his name, he runs
off to get Jesus in trouble for healing and telling people to carry their mats
on the Sabbath. The church has some
great traditions about what happens to other unnamed Biblical characters. The child who comes to Jesus is believed to
be Polycarp, an early Bishop and martyr.
The Gerasene demonic with a legion of demons is alleged to become an
early evangelist and Bishop. But I
couldn’t find any traditions about this guy, a whiner who we never read says
“Thank You” to Jesus or gives glory to God for his healing.
Now,
obviously, this man hadn’t met Jesus before.
He hadn’t read the gospels or heard the good news. Maybe there really
had been no other way. May he was that
depressed because he had in fact tried everything he could think of. But the Great Physician asked, “Do you want
to be made well?” and all you’ve got is a long list of excuses. It reminds me of story by Theophane the Monk:
“Why not?” that was the first
thing he said. He had never seen me
before. I hadn’t said a word. “Why
not?” I knew he had me.
I brought up excuses: “My
wife…the people I have to work with…not enough time…I guess it’s my
temperament…”
 |
| Illustration John O'Brien |
There was a sword hanging on the
wall. He took it and gave it to me. “Here, with this sword, you can cut through
any barriers.” I took it and slipped away without saying a word.
Back in my room in the guesthouse
I sat down and kept looking at that sword.
I knew that what he said was true.
But the next day I returned his
sword. How can I live without my
excuses?
Now
this gospel and this story matter to us this morning because Jesus is also
asking us, “Do you want to be made well?” and he isn’t only asking about
physical healing. He is asking us if we
want to be whole and happy and blessed.
He is asking us if we want to know his love and be able to share his
love with others. He is asking us if we
want to live into the mighty purpose we were made for as sons and daughters of
God.
But so
often, when we are asked if we want to be made well, our only answer is a list
of excuses. Sometimes, Jesus heals us anyway, just like the invalid in our
gospel. But, just like our invalid,
being made well in the short term doesn’t mean we are living into the Kingdom
of God for the long term if we keep dragging our excuses behind us. We can probably name any number of folks with
every bit of health, wealth and advantage or seem nothing more than whiny,
spoiled, brats. Then we also know people
who may not even be able to get out of bed who radiate God’s love to everyone
around them. Do we want to become the
brilliant, radiant, beloved, loving people God made us to be before the world
began? Do you want to be made well?
Yes! We do!!
But we aren’t going to make it to the love and wholeness Jesus wants for
us without cutting through our excuses.
We want to say “Yes,” and follow Jesus with nothing holding us back.
Just
what are some of our excuses?
Sometimes
the excuses we hide behind are a false modesty or low self-image. The invalid in the gospel uses these
excuses. “I would be well, but nobody
wants to help poor old me.” “I just
don’t move fast enough to get down to the water when I need to.” “I’ve can’t make the people mad who want me
to stay sick.” Really? What’s the psalm
say, “I thank you because I am marvelously made; your works are wonderful and I
know it well”…”you yourself created my inmost parts; you knit me together in my
mother’s womb.” Each of us was made for
an important purpose, and if we say “Yes” to Jesus, he will open that wholeness
up for us. Our life may still seem
overwhelming. Our health may still be subpar.
Our love will probably still be less than we want it to be. Nevertheless, Jesus will bring us with him on
the path to the abundant life he wants for us.
Sometimes
the excuses we hide behind come from a prideful ego. “Don’t worry, Jesus, I’m Ok as I am.” We don’t want to take the next step in love
and discipleship, since we believe we should already be walking on water. Obviously, cutting out all the ways we
falsely build ourselves up is a pretty painful process. But hopefully we can do it. Mature Christian friends and God’s provision
of the right crises generally also help if we are serious. The key is to just say “Yes” to Jesus, then
be quiet. He’ll tell us what to do next,
probably from the people we least want to hear instruct us.
Then,
sometimes, our excuses are all our attachments that keep us distracted. “I want to be well after dessert, or after a
cup of coffee.” “I want to be well, but
only if I can keep the stuff I worked so hard for.” “I want to be well, but only after everyone
else I know is well so that I’m not uncomfortable.” But remember what Jesus told the rich young
ruler, “Sell all you have, give to the poor, and follow me.” Do we want sugar more than wellness, caffeine
more than wholeness, worldly riches more than divine purpose, or social
pleasantries more than divine love. When
Jesus makes us well, we’ll have everything we need, and we will be agents of
his love and healing to those around us.
Now
cutting away our excuses is not easy. Even
when we can figure out what our excuses are, the process is difficult. Our difficulty in doing so is why Jesus asks
us, “Do you want to be made well?” We
can say “yes” and hand him the sword. Giving
ourselves over to Jesus to cut out our excuses is an incredibly scary act of
faith. But, oh is it worth it! This surrender is what people talk about when
they say you have to want to want it. If
we want Jesus to make us well, even if we can’t really deal with all the
transformations and implications of that process, he’ll lead us on the way to
Eternal Life. If Jesus is willing and
able to heal the Gospel’s invalid with all his excuses and issues, just imagine
what he’ll do for us.
So
answer Jesus today, simply “yes” or “no”.
Do you want to be made well?
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