‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up'

Tuesday Week Four

Reading: John 5: 1-3 5-16

After this there was a festival of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.   Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Bethzatha, which has five porticos. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.  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?’ 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.  Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’ At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

Now that day was a Sabbath. 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.’ But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.” They asked him, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Take it up and walk”?’ Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there.  Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, ‘See, you have been made well! Do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.’ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. Reflection Here we see where Jesus has gone to celebrate a shabbat festival in Jerusalem. After the Babylonian captivity the city of Jerusalem lay in ruins when the Jewish people returned home. They set about rebuilding it and built ten walls and ten gates for its protection. One of these gates was the ‘sheep gate’ which was situated on the northeastern corner of the wall. (Nehemiah 12:39) The sheep were brought through this gate to be sold.   

The pool of Bethzatha was nearby, it was seen as a place of disgrace due to the presence of invalids, or as a place of mercy and grace if a healing was granted. At this pool Jesus met a man who had been lying ill at the poolside for thirty-eight years. Thirty-eight was a number of biblical significance when after thirty-eight years of wilderness punishment the Israelites were going to enter the promised land. (Deuteronomy 2:14) Was this the day when after a lifetime of waiting for freedom and healing this poor ill man was to be set free and enter his own promised land.

Jesus enters an intimate, personal, compassionate dialogue with him.  In his distress the man reveals to a stranger the burden that he is carrying and in so doing cries out for help. Jesus asks him a direct question, “do you want to be well again?”  Jesus does not impose healing or contrition upon him but invites him to choose his response. In so doing, he respects the dignity and free will of the person before him.   The man clearly names his difficulty; ‘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.’  Jesus immediately responds to his cry for help and commands him to ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’ In obedience to the Lord, the man stood up, took up his mat and began to walk.

Narrow minded Pharisaic attitudes were unable to see beyond non-life giving laws and wishes to condemn Jesus for his actions.  They challenged the healed man for carrying his mat on the sabbath not appreciating that Jesus’ mission was always to bring healing, physical, emotional and spiritual to the person as demonstrated later in his conversation with the man in the temple when he emphasised the importance of staying free from sin or something worse could happen to him. Sadly, the man went and told the Jews what had happened and once again they were out to get Jesus.

The great city of Jerusalem was where the salvation story would come to fulfilment on Calvary and in the garden of the resurrection. The lamb of God was crucified on Calvary and rose in the garden (John 20:11-18)

As we enter ever more deeply into Lent what is the blindness from which you suffer or the paralysis that you carry? Are there old wounds or sins in your life that need healing?  Do you cry out to Jesus and ask him for healing trusting that he wishes to make you whole in every area of my life?  What blocks you from approaching him and asking him to place you in the pool of his healing love?

There is much social sin in our society that needs to be cleansed, political corruption, ethnic cleansing, racial and religious intolerance.

What actions can your faith community take to challenge these unjust structures.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you for the many times that you have asked me,

‘what do you want me to do for you?’

Thank you for placing me into the pool of your divine love and mercy.

Thank you for healing my body, mind and spirit;

Thank you for drawing me closer to you. May I never fail to thank You.

May I never place myself at risk of perdition.

In your great mercy, hear my prayer, O Lord, Amen.