John 5:3-9 “ In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 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 going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked."
For thirty eight years, a man carried a prolonging illness in his body that kept him rooted to one spot on the poolside of Bethesda. He was so close to what was locally believed to be a powerful source of healing, and yet was unable to access that wellness. It is a simple question that Jesus asked, a yes or no type of question - Do you want to be healed? And yet, the answer that the sick man gave him was more a lament about his condition and a complaint against others for it persisting in his body.
One person’s condition, good or bad, does not depend on the actions or inactions of another. Pinning our hopes on people to put us in a place of comfort, can set us up for huge disappointments, because man- even the most good-natured one, is only as powerful as the dust of which he is made and to which he will one day return (Psalm 146:3 -4 “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish..”). Doing so for lengthy periods of time and not having found relief may even cause us to develop bitter feelings toward them for not being helpful. Here’s a thought, if nothing has changed about our wretchedness even after having waited for a long time, maybe it’s a good idea to check if we have been hoping that a certain someone who is not God, will come along and be the hero who saves the day and failing which, have ultimately been blaming them for our persisting condition.
Jesus knew (as He always does!), for exactly how long this man had been suffering. He could have probably given him a minute by minute rerun of the past thirty eight years without missing a single detail and SO, without wasting any more time He jumps right into the heart of the issue, Do you want to be healed? It is almost as if He is asking the sick man to make a choice about his illness. YES OR NO? And it really does come to down to just that - making a choice to be healed or allowing something to eat us alive. Living in a state of brokenness can embrittle a person from the inside out so much so that they may feel accustomed to it and allow the pain to become a comfort toy (don't we carry it to to bed every night?). Sometimes, we might even weaponize it, without even intentionally meaning to do so. What does that mean? We might hurl our words at loved ones or mope around them looking defeated, displacing anger over our continued state of pain, cling to un-forgiveness and perennially complain about being hindered from reaching a romantic notion of bliss, just as this invalid at the pool of Bethesda was doing. Even the prayers we pray might be for those others around us to get their act together, so that we can achieve our personal goals (Luke 10:38-42 “Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”)
Complaining is a dangerous game. It can look like grieving- which the Bible completely empathizes with (Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”) or like lamenting in the face of troubles like King David did in so many Psalms, or like rebuking a well-founded wrong-doing like many of the prophets did when the nation of Israel sinned against God. But actually, complaining is none of those things. It exalts the ‘self’ and its efforts while expressing disappointment in the others, it casts blame on everything else around it for its existence and is in a cyclical state of not finding peace or joy. The apostle Paul exhorted his readers to beware of the complaining attitude, and that too while he was incarcerated (Philippians 2:14 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing,”). He could have chosen to rally against his captors or cried out against the pitiful conditions of his confinement, yet, He chose to advise his patrons to joy in God and to look to Him alone for peace indescribable and joy unspeakable (Phil 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”)
When Jesus, who was fully aware of the invalid’s condition chose to interact with him, it was not to give him an opening to whinge, rather it was to shut the door on his suffering once for all by speaking life into him (John 15:3 “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you”). If only we would stop to allow Jesus to speak to us right into our hearts and override our grumbling, we would realize that the power of His Word and Instruction is such that our ailing bodies and wasting minds will respond to Him and be healed AT ONCE setting us free, to walk away from a life of pain.
Today, I feel that the Lord is asking many of us who might be hurting, the same question that He asked that broken man at the pool of Bethesda - do you want to be healed - in your body, in your marriage, in your spirit, in your emotions, of your disappointments about the past and of fears about the future ?… What answer are we giving Him?
God Bless
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