Sunday, July 11, 2010

Get Up and Go




Everlasting Light

Today's sermon at church today was about the story in the fifth chapter of John about the healing at the pool in Bethesda. The story goes that the lame, sick and invalid would gather at this pool and wait for the waters to stir. Upon stirring, it was believed that the first one in the water would be healed of what ailed them. The ironic part to me is that these are a pack of physically ill and/or disabled people, waiting for an exact moment to move physically into the waters. I can only imagine how painstaking it might to be to wait for those moments to race to the water with a failing body. One man had been suffering, alone in a crowd for thirty eight years. He'd evidently struggled to race to the stirring waters all those years and yet failed because he was physically not able and had no help. Jesus picked this man out of the crowd, asked him if he wanted to be made well and upon getting an answer, healed him and told him to get up and go . . . all without the man knowing who HE was. It's yet another stunning example of Jesus' healing.

The fact that Jesus wanted confirmation that this man wanted to be healed is important for me. It's obvious that this man had debilitating physical ailments, having not being strong enough to get to the water first ahead of all who had gathered at the pool with him. What's more important is the spiritual suffering this man has experienced. It's my impression that the question Jesus posed to the man was about being healed spiritually, more so than physically. I believe that God calls us to WANT to be spiritually healed, above all else. After all, our bodies are flawed and designed to be outlived by our spirits.

Once the healing is done, this invalid of a man, wrought with loneliness for not having anyone to befriend or help him all these years is called to simply GET UP and GO . . . and he DOES! Jesus didn't tickle his feet asking if he could feel it. Jesus didn't hold the man's hand and tell him to try sitting up, or try putting weight on his legs. Jesus doesn't wait for him to discover his healing and exclaim "I can feel my legs" or "I can see". Jesus doesn't waste any time letting the man acclimate to his newfound strength. Jesus wants him to trust fully that he can not only carry his own weight but carry the mat that has been his home for all these years, and carry them AWAY from this place. The fullness of the healing happens all in the moment this man stands, physically and spiritually.

There have been times for me when life experiences have called me to get up and go. I wouldn't compare them to the profound healing this man experienced but it helps me relate to him. One does not need to lose function of their limbs to feel paralyzed. One does not need to lack visual acuity to be blinded and one does not need to live on a mat to feel unwelcome. I've had times when I had no idea what would come next. The biggest act of faith is in the getting up, trusting that God has given you the capacity to go and trusting that the path ahead will be made clear.

I hope I always hear Him when He asks if I want to be healed, that I'm not too afraid to say yes and that I always trust enough to get up and go when He tells me to do so.