Powerless
Helpless
Incapable
Weak

When Jesus
Seeks out the man
At the Pools Of Bethesda,
He knows
That the man
Has been there
For a long time.
Lying there on the ground
Waiting
Day after day
To be the first
To the water
So that he might
Be healed.

So it’s curious
That the first thing
Jesus says to him is:
Wilt thou be made whole?
Or in other words:

Do you want to be healed?

Reading the story,
One might wonder:
Um, isn’t that obvious?
He’s waiting by the pool
To be healed
After all.

So why does Jesus
Ask him that question?

It’s also curious,
The man’s reply.

Instead of a simple
Yes or no,
He says:

“Sir,”

And proceeds to tell him
All about
How he has no one
To help him.
No one
To put him
Into the pool.
And to make matters worse,
As he tries
On his own
To make his way
To the pool
By himself,
Using his own strength,
He tells Jesus
That the other people there
Step down before him,
Implying
That other people
Are taking from him
What he feels
Like he deserves.
And he resents them.
Blames them
For his lack.

And so
I wonder again
Why?
Why did the man say that?
Instead of:
“Yes, of course!
That’s why I’m here
In the first place!

Do you want to be healed?

It seems like
A simple question.
But when I pause and ponder,
I realize
It is actually
A potentially loaded question.

And I also realize
It’s a question
That I’ve asked myself.

Because
If the man IS healed,
What does he lose?
He no longer
Gets to be a victim.
No longer receiving from others:
Money
Dinner
And sympathy.
He no longer
Gets to be,
According to
The King James translation,
Impotent
AKA
Powerless
Helpless
Incapable
Weak.
He no longer
Gets to have
The luxury
Of blaming others
For his situation.
He no longer
Gets to be angry
And resentful of others
Who seem to be claiming
What he is rightly entitled to.
He no longer
Gets to stay
In his comfort zone
Biding his time
By the pools
Where he has been
For most of the 38 years
Of his life.

And that can feel scary,
To leave something familiar
For something new
And unknown.
Even if it might be
Better for us.

And Jesus must have known that.
Because He enters the story
And meets the man
Exactly where he is,
In every way –
Physically,
Emotionally,
Spiritually,
Mentally
Temporally.
On his level:
Lying on the ground
Angry
Tired
Discouraged
Poor, in every sense of the word.

And then Jesus
Still respects the man’s right
To exercise his agency
And choose for himself.

Do you want to be healed?

In other words,
Will you let Me handle this?
Will you give Me all of your
Exhaustion
Anger
Discouragement
Poverty?
And trust Me
To take care of it?
To replace it
With something else?

Do you want to be healed?

Did the man really –
Actually –
Want a new version
Of his life
Where he was healed?
He had no idea
What that might look like.
He might have to learn
How to get a job
And earn money for himself.
He might have to learn
How to make his own dinner.
And additional skills
That were completely different
Than what he already knew.
Completely different
From his old life.
From his old identity.

Do you want to be healed?

It’s a great question.
Because Jesus is also asking him:
Do you want to walk?
Not just physically
But also
Walk into the unknown?
Leaving this life behind?
It might be hard sometimes.
You might make mistakes as you learn.
Do you trust me?

And maybe
I’m not giving him
Enough credit
For how much courage
He needed to have
To answer that question.

Because ultimately,
The man in the story
Chose healing.
He chose to trust.
He chose to let go
And let God
Right the wrongs.
And fix the hurts.
And heal his body.
So he could move on
And move forward
Into the unknown.

And I pray
For the same kind of courage
That he had
So I can do likewise.

Artwork by Carl Bloch