Word to the Wise
Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - 4th Week of Lent - Tues
[Ezek 47:1-9, 12 and John 5:1-3a, 5-16]One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be well?" [John]
What kind of question is that? Wouldn't YOU want to be well? In the Gospel According to John, there are no idle questions. Every question serves as a platform for the message of the gospel. And there are usually two levels of understanding in play. In this scene, there is the physical wellness that the waters may bring, but there is also the wellness of faith. However, we do not know the state of the man's faith, only that he did as Jesus told him and he was healed. He does not answer Jesus' question, but gives an excuse for his failure to achieve wellness.
The discourse that follows this scene centers on "work" because Jesus healed on a sabbath. The lectionary omits the line that follows the last words of the selection which focus on the persecution of Jesus because he violated the sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father is at work until now, so I am at work." [verse 17]
The healing of the crippled beggar is a demonstration of Jesus' power to heal and to give life, even to those who do not initially believe in him. The story of the man born blind that we heard on Sunday is similar in this regard. The blind man comes to faith once he can "see." But the emphasis is on Jesus and the confrontation between faith and nonbelief in him. Jesus' "work" is to bring people to faith in him. At the Last Supper, he will hand this work over to his disciples. They have handed it on to the rest of us. The world of royal officials, Samaritan women, crippled beggars and congenitally blind all await us to do Jesus' work! AMEN