3/13/2019 2 Comments: (at the bottom of this reflection.)
Today's question:
"Do you want to be healed?"
From John 5:
5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 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?”
5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 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?”
Reflection from Harolyn Thogerson
In John 5, Jesus is in Jerusalem on the Sabbath when he sees a sick man lying near a pool. My Bible explains in a footnote that “Some manuscripts add verses 3b-4: “… every now and then an angel of the Lord went down into the pool and stirred up the water. The first sick person to go into the pool after the water was stirred up was healed.” -- Good News Bible with Deuterocanonical/Apocrypha: Today’s English Version)
Jesus learns the man had suffered a long time – “been an invalid for thirty-eight years” – and asks him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man immediately replies he has tried to get to the healing waters, but with no-one to assist, someone else always gets to the water before him. Yet there he was at poolside again, still believing in the Lord’s providence, hoping to be made whole. He was sick decades; how long must he have prayed, somehow made his way there. Jesus’ response to him? “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Now imagine how radically that man’s life changed.
Likely most would choose to say “Yes!” to healing, in that man’s circumstances. Probably we’d say yes even if our condition were short-term, like the flu, or one of many other things that don’t fit with our image of our best self, things like what you choose as the focus of New Year resolutions, or Lenten ones. When you resolve to make changes like those, are you successful? Do you look to the Lord, listen for His direction, persist, like the sick man in John 5? Or do you find yourself falling back into old habits?
Sometimes I hear God but pay Him no mind. But He doesn’t forget me. Recently at a meeting, one of the participants noticed that while the rest of us had been talking a lot and for a while, one person had been quiet. As he gently asked our quieter member if she would like to say something, I heard the Spirit say to me, ‘Be quiet’. I remember this particularly because I did not heed Him. Soon I was speaking again, and again, when suddenly our facilitator exclaimed, “Harolyn! You always need to fix things!” That. Was. Arresting. In that group, you see, we specifically study practices meant to draw us closer to God, to strengthen our reliance on Him, not on ourselves. Too busy talking, I missed the point of leaving space (and quiet) to trust in God and His provision.
Having my attention, God continues to inform me. At home my son concurred: “Yeah, sometimes I just want to vent; I’m not looking for advice.” An Arizona friend sent a devotion sparking an exchange between us about Ps. 46: “Be still, and know that I am God.” At our last Holy Practices group meeting, one of us shared this listening practice: we paired off, and, taking turns, spoke to our partner for 2.5 minutes on a subject. The listening partner was directed to say nothing and betray no reaction as the speaker spoke. How different it was simply to listen, good practice for being in the presence of God. Last Saturday I happened to turn on the TV before 7 a.m., and there was Dr. Charles Stanley saying, “Listen. It takes patience … courage … determination … strength … endurance … to wait for God.”
I’ve been paying attention. I try to pause, when I hear God’s “Shhh.” I still have the impulse to speak and help -- I’ve had the habit for a long time, but, with His help, I will lapse less often. I’m thankful for God’s whispers and the lessons and direction revealed in the people and experiences He provides.
Jesus healed the man by the pool. Why him? I think Jesus saw how deeply that man trusted in the Lord, how long he had lived in sickness and hope and how ready he was to be healed. Jesus became his present help. God is ready to do the same for each of us. What conditions keep you from being the person God wants you to be? Are you ready to hear God, and to trust in Him to lead you, in His time? Do you want to be healed?
Jesus learns the man had suffered a long time – “been an invalid for thirty-eight years” – and asks him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man immediately replies he has tried to get to the healing waters, but with no-one to assist, someone else always gets to the water before him. Yet there he was at poolside again, still believing in the Lord’s providence, hoping to be made whole. He was sick decades; how long must he have prayed, somehow made his way there. Jesus’ response to him? “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Now imagine how radically that man’s life changed.
Likely most would choose to say “Yes!” to healing, in that man’s circumstances. Probably we’d say yes even if our condition were short-term, like the flu, or one of many other things that don’t fit with our image of our best self, things like what you choose as the focus of New Year resolutions, or Lenten ones. When you resolve to make changes like those, are you successful? Do you look to the Lord, listen for His direction, persist, like the sick man in John 5? Or do you find yourself falling back into old habits?
Sometimes I hear God but pay Him no mind. But He doesn’t forget me. Recently at a meeting, one of the participants noticed that while the rest of us had been talking a lot and for a while, one person had been quiet. As he gently asked our quieter member if she would like to say something, I heard the Spirit say to me, ‘Be quiet’. I remember this particularly because I did not heed Him. Soon I was speaking again, and again, when suddenly our facilitator exclaimed, “Harolyn! You always need to fix things!” That. Was. Arresting. In that group, you see, we specifically study practices meant to draw us closer to God, to strengthen our reliance on Him, not on ourselves. Too busy talking, I missed the point of leaving space (and quiet) to trust in God and His provision.
Having my attention, God continues to inform me. At home my son concurred: “Yeah, sometimes I just want to vent; I’m not looking for advice.” An Arizona friend sent a devotion sparking an exchange between us about Ps. 46: “Be still, and know that I am God.” At our last Holy Practices group meeting, one of us shared this listening practice: we paired off, and, taking turns, spoke to our partner for 2.5 minutes on a subject. The listening partner was directed to say nothing and betray no reaction as the speaker spoke. How different it was simply to listen, good practice for being in the presence of God. Last Saturday I happened to turn on the TV before 7 a.m., and there was Dr. Charles Stanley saying, “Listen. It takes patience … courage … determination … strength … endurance … to wait for God.”
I’ve been paying attention. I try to pause, when I hear God’s “Shhh.” I still have the impulse to speak and help -- I’ve had the habit for a long time, but, with His help, I will lapse less often. I’m thankful for God’s whispers and the lessons and direction revealed in the people and experiences He provides.
Jesus healed the man by the pool. Why him? I think Jesus saw how deeply that man trusted in the Lord, how long he had lived in sickness and hope and how ready he was to be healed. Jesus became his present help. God is ready to do the same for each of us. What conditions keep you from being the person God wants you to be? Are you ready to hear God, and to trust in Him to lead you, in His time? Do you want to be healed?
Comments
Janice Weber
3/13/2019
Thought provoking. Thank you for this.
3/13/2019
Thought provoking. Thank you for this.
Barb Duncan
Wed, Mar 13, 2019 at 4:53 pm
Dave and I were confronted with the same question. Do you want to be healed? After his heart attack in 2013 and stent, we both entered upon a healthful new era in our life -- no more Friday night pizzas and cupcakes, etc., very few meals in restaurants, choosing healthful eating and losing weight. No amount of over-eating compares to the on-going pleasure of NEVER again being ashamed of how one's body looks. We always exercised, but now it's been more intentional.
Wed, Mar 13, 2019 at 4:53 pm
Dave and I were confronted with the same question. Do you want to be healed? After his heart attack in 2013 and stent, we both entered upon a healthful new era in our life -- no more Friday night pizzas and cupcakes, etc., very few meals in restaurants, choosing healthful eating and losing weight. No amount of over-eating compares to the on-going pleasure of NEVER again being ashamed of how one's body looks. We always exercised, but now it's been more intentional.
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About Today's Author
Harolyn Thogersen is a Des Plaines resident whose membership in the FUMCDP goes back about 40 years. She’s an old girl scout—likes to “make new friends and keep the old,” enjoys yoga and aerobics, and shares a love of family, home, and gardening with her husband, Elmer.
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