This fall semester I\u2019ve been teaching a course with my colleague Dr. Mark Stamm, Professor of Worship at Perkins School of Theology on preaching and worship in life\u2019s transitions. We\u2019ve talked about major transitions like weddings and funerals. Our latest unit is on times in life when people are stuck and need the healing touch of God, the presence of Jesus, and the love of the community. We\u2019ve talked about how healing and cure are not the same thing, that being \u201cmade well\u201d or \u201csaved,\u201d means restoration to relationship with God, to the community and to oneself. Physical improvement may be involved but healing cannot be reduced to \u00a0the disappearance of physical ailments and limitations.<\/p>\n
As I was reflecting on these matters, my mind turned to John 5:1-9, the story of Jesus healing the man by the pool of Bethzatha. I love this text for lots of reasons, but for one thing, I love the seemingly contradictory way it starts out. \u201cSeeing that the man had been lying there a long time, Jesus asked him, \u201cDo you want to be made well?\u2019 The Greek could also be rendered, \u201cAre you willing to be made whole?\u201d<\/p>\n
The text tells us that the man had been ill for thirty-eight years. That is almost as long as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. It\u2019s much longer than the woman in Mark 5 suffered from the flow of blood or the woman in Luke 13 suffered from being bent over. Thirty-eight years signals this is a hopeless case, that if a miracle happens here, it will have to be a big one.<\/p>\n
At first it seems ridiculous that Jesus would have to ask someone who has been suffering so long if they wanted to be made well. But then again, maybe not\u2026<\/p>\n
I know a woman, Jan, who is a nurse in a hospital in Dallas. She says there is a look that she and her colleagues exchange when faced with a certain category of patient. She refers to the (usually male) heart by pass patient who, as soon as he is able to sit up, calls for all his electronic devices and sets up an office in hospital bed. The look Jan and her colleagues share across the room is \u00a0the \u201cHe\u2019ll be back\u201d look.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing that he had been lying there a long time, Jesus asked him\u201d\u2026.It seems like a ridiculous question, but then again, maybe not.<\/p>\n
My mom told me about how several years ago, she and my dad \u00a0were attending a newspaper publishers\u2019 meeting at a lovely resort in Bermuda. One evening they went into the dining room for dinner and stood for a moment enjoying the beauty of the sunset through the windows, the white linen table cloths, the lit candles and fragrant flowers on each table. They were seated at a table with another couple they had met the day before. The man looked up and smiled at them and said, \u201cJoin us. We are celebrating our 35th<\/sup> wedding anniversary tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Whereupon his wife hissed, \u00a0\u201cMake that 34th<\/sup>!\u201d You took a year off from our marriage with that bimbo from the office.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing she had been there a long time, Jesus asked her, \u2018Do you want to be made well?\u2019 \u201d It seems like a ridiculous question, but then again\u2026.<\/p>\n I remember a man I knew in the first parish I served. He was then in his mid 50\u2019s.\u00a0 After his divorce, he had moved back in with his parents. Gradually, he took over more and more responsibility for their care as they became older.\u00a0 He would come in a couple of times a week complaining to me about what a burden they were to him.\u00a0 How they kept him from being able to date. How they took up all his time and much of his money. How his life could be so much freer if he didn\u2019t have them like an albatross around his neck.<\/p>\n Then his mom and dad both died in the same 6 month period. Oscar Wilde once said, \u201cWhen the gods wish to punish us, they simply answer our prayers.\u201d\u00a0 I thought, Now John will be happy. He can date if he wants to. He has his freedom.<\/p>\n Until John showed up at my office door a few weeks later. \u201cMy life is so empty. I have no purpose.\u00a0 I miss them so much.\u00a0 They were the best parents a man could have had.\u00a0 What will I do without them? I can\u2019t find anyone who appeals to me to date. My life is so empty.\u201d<\/p>\n A line from the musical The Sound of Music popped into my mind, \u201cMy Favorite Things.\u201d \u201cWhen the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I\u2019m feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don\u2019t feel so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n I thought, though I didn\u2019t say it, \u201cJohn, your glass is full to the brim with all your favorite things: an ounce of \u2018if only,\u2019 a \u00a0dollop of discontent, and a cup full of \u2018I can\u2019t wait until.\u2019 You need to face up to who you are. You are a person who enjoys being unhappy. Face it and embrace it. It is who you are. It is who you will always be.\u201d<\/p>\n To Be Continued\u2026.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This fall semester I\u2019ve been teaching a course with my colleague Dr. Mark Stamm, Professor of Worship at Perkins School of Theology on preaching and worship in life\u2019s transitions. We\u2019ve talked about major transitions like weddings and funerals. Our latest unit is on times in life when people are stuck and need the healing touch […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":224,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n