Poolside Living! John 5.1-23
John 5.1-23
5After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. 3In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” 7The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.” 8Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” 9At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. Now that day was a Sabbath. 10So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” 11But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’” 12They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” 13Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there. 14Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well!
If you’ve been with us during this series on the 12 steps, or if you’re familiar with the 12 steps at all, then you may have begun to notice that the 12 steps are more like a lifelong journey rather than just a short walk. The ideas and actions in each step aren’t something you can just wake up one morning and decide to embrace all at once- each step takes time to grasp, and sometimes they overlap and intersect.
So to review- Step 1: Admitted we were powerless over (whatever your addiction) and that our lives were unmanageable.... And, at least in this room, we all related to Step 1 in some way- we agreed that all of us, are addicted to or struggle with something- and that we are all powerless to overcome it on our own strength. We likened it to the power of sin- as Apostle Paul pointed out when he said, “the very thing I don’t want to do, I do…all fall short, etc.”
Then last month we talked about Step 2: Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. And we talked about the struggle to believe- that as much as we want to believe in something or someone who could make our lives better, we suffer from an affliction called doubt; while on the one hand we rush to God's side and say “Yes Lord I believe!” in the next breath we plead, “Help, Lord, my unbelief…”And we discussed just how scary it is to put our lives in the hands of anyone else but “me.” (If I can't do it, no one can, etc.)
So today, as we talk about step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God (as I understood God) we need to talk about how to move from fear to faith. For some of us, that is a pretty big jump. So let’s look at one man’s example...
In the passage, Jesus and his disciples are traveling to Jerusalem for a festival- a huge festival. And like many religious destinations, there were places where one would go specifically for healing. The Sheep Gate, one of the entrances to the temple area was such a place.
Now, by the Sheep gate, there was a pool, believed to have healing powers. The best modern example I can think of is Lourdes, in France. And by the pool were porches, or levels, where people who needed healing would wait to get into the water. Among them, many invalids—blind, sick, and paralyzed.
All those people laying there waiting to be healed- like an emergency waiting room- or a bread line- or a sanctuary… and in walks Jesus. And one man among them catches his eye; one who was sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus knew that he had been there a long time, and he walks over and stands right next to him… and the man looks up at Jesus.
Now I’m not sure what the sick man may have been thinking at that moment. Surely after being there for 38 years; (did you hear that… 38 years… who here is over 38? Can you imagine being sick for 38 years? Living with something 38 years? Fighting something for 38 years? Anyone be battling that long… with anything? How about 10 years… 5 years… 1 year? It doesn’t really matter does it… when you are in need of healing, it doesn’t matter if its 38 years or 38 minutes, it can seem like forever… ) And surely in that 38 years of poolside living, he had been approached by numerous people trying to help him… some possibly giving him food, or a blanket… many I'm sure with the "cure" or "the answer" or "the way to fix himself"- there is never a shortage of advice. And while some people wanted to help, there were surely, in 38 years, also some who took pleasure in tormenting him… poking fun, or worse, degrading him in some way… As the man looked up he must have wondered- was Jesus here to help or hurt?
Or was this stranger staring down at him someone else… maybe someone he got drunk with once and forgotten the face; perhaps he was a dealer offering something to ease the pain? Or maybe that bill collector he had been avoiding from the credit card company… the repo man come to get his car… or was it Jennie Craig in the flesh? Lots of people come to us in our pain. But whoever this guy was, he was smack dab in the middle of his space, and it was beginning to make the sick man uncomfortable.
And Jesus breaks the silence, “Do you want to be made well?”
"Well what kind of a question is that? Of course I want to be made well, doesn’t every sick person want to be made well? Doesn’t everyone who is struggling with something want it to be taken away to stop the cycle of madness? Don’t we all want to be free from the things that are keeping us from enjoying life more fully? Don’t we all want the kind of freedom that comes from not being addicted so we can get on with our dreams and start living life in the land of "if only." (If only I were healthy, sober, rich, thin, tall, pretty, smart...)
We do, don’t we? I don’t want to be this way anymore. I hate being fat! I could buy the coolest clothes and have such a great life if I were thin! I dream about it! I have little magazine cutouts on my fridge of pretty people in bikinis for motivation! That’s why I come and sit near this healing pool every day! And go to the grocery store and buy kale & kelp and Styrofoam rice cakes! Of course I want to be made well!
But the sick man doesn’t say that… he never answers Jesus' question… instead, he explains why he's been living poolside for 38 years and has never made it into the water!
“Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.”
Wait a minute! I know this song J And I know everyone in this room does too. For every vow we’ve taken to stop the insanity, we have an excuse to go with it on why we couldn’t make it to the pool. And most of those excuses blame everyone else for the problem but me.
And listen, I’m not saying that any of the things on our laundry lists are not valid. There are some bad things that may have happened to us in our lives… I know the pain of an abusive past; I know how much pressure comes from being brought up in the wrong area, or the wrong household, or from having the wrong ‘friends’…I know the economy stinks, and jobs are scarce, relationships are strained... and it's easy to see why we seek out things to serve as an escape from the pain and pressure- and so we eat sugar, and drink, and do drugs, and shop, and spend, and watch porn, and play video games.
And although we may recognize that we are powerless over these things, and want to believe in the healing pool of that we’ve parked ourselves next to for the last 38 years, for some reason, we can rattle off a list of excuses as to why we can’t make our way to the water-
For some reason, it’s just too scary to get our feet wet. And I get that… because once I get healed from this addiction; I’m not going to have my crutches anymore. Once I make a decision to be healed by this God, the God whom I have confessed has the power to heal me, it means I won’t be able to live this way anymore, and frankly, it’s become comfortable here by the pool. And I have a whole system of people around me who, even if they get angry from time to time, they bring me food and blankets and even feel sorry for me… and I get to feel sorry for me too. Deciding to trust, and moving toward the water means I will have to do things and be things and live out things that are bigger than what I can see right now… and what if I fail… or worse… what if I am successful!
We don’t think of that too often… that it may be scary to be more than we are right now- that being all God has designed for us to be, or living out our potential... well, is intimidating. Marianne Williamson says, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.”
You see, it’s easy to buy into the lie that we are less than. It’s easy to believe what society tells us; that we are not measuring up, and frankly never will… or that there is something desperately wrong with us that needs fixing (that they can sell us a remedy for, by the way). It’s easier to believe that we can do nothing than believe that we are called to some higher purpose in this world. Who wants to be Mother Teresa for crying out loud? Or have some major political role where people depend on you, and you have to lead others? Who really wants to work toward fighting crime, or feeding the homeless, or fighting injustice? Who wants to commit to every week teaching Sunday school, or working a soup kitchen, or preaching peace? All of that takes more than what I’m capable of for sure… so instead, I’ll put on a little suntan lotion and stay put.
But here’s the amazing part of this story. Jesus doesn’t wait for the man to say 'yes Lord, I want to be healed,' before he intervenes. Jesus doesn’t wait for us to ask for help before he steps in with an answer… Did you notice that? Jesus listens to the list of why not’s that the man has constructed, and he doesn’t condemn him for them either. Jesus gets it. He understand where the list of excuses comes from and he knows the fear in the man's heart… he knows everything about him- every intimate detail- and has suffered with him through every heartbreak...
So instead of calling him out on where he is, or making him feel bad about it, and instead of even helping him into the water (as I’m sure others have tried to do in the past), Jesus cuts to the chase and offers him a future outside of poolside living…
And kneels down next to the man, looks into his eyes and says “Stand up. Pick up your mat and walk”
And something happens… maybe it was just time… maybe it was the tone of Jesus’ voice… maybe it was the healing power in his words… but whatever it was, at that moment, this sunburned blistered child of God made a decision to trust the one offering him some aloe… this man who had lived the better part of his life parched and dry while the waters of healing lay just feet away, decided that today… he would stand up, not in his own power, but in the power of the Lord. And he was made well…
And it would be so cool if our story ended right there… Wouldn’t it be wonderful to embrace healing and stand up all straightened out and go on with being everything you are standing up to be? And wouldn’t it be great if everyone around you, who saw you laying by that pool for so long would be happy for you?
But here’s the next verse: Now that day was a sabbath. 10So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, “It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” Really?
Wait a minute, what happened to: “hey, here is this guy who was sick for so long up and about! He’s had some healing going on, let’s celebrate!” No… most of the time when we decide to take a step toward God, the world doesn’t give us a standing ovation.
Most of the time, when we step out in faith, or step up to be more than we are right now, or decide to trust God with our lives, and take a stand, so to speak, we get lots of people telling us why we can’t do it, or that we’re doing it wrong, or that we’re sure to fail;
or they pick on something about us that is unrelated to what we’re trying to do!
And sadly, we aren’t very good at encouraging one another- even in the church… Someone has a spiritual or emotional breakthrough and we look out of the corner of our eye at the... "oooohhh, good for YOU!"
Why do we do it to each other? I truly believe that goes back to the fact that we all in some way shape or form, are afraid to admit that we also have a lounge chair staked out by the side of the pool.
And maybe part of it is, that seeing someone leave the pool is a powerful witness… it might even make us mindful of our own need to get out of the sun. And further, maybe we don’t like the thought that our neighbor won’t be there anymore to pass us an umbrella drink.
In fact, there are those who pass by the pool and look at you day after day, and guess what? They aren’t eager for you to leave the pool either. We like having the sick and the paralyzed in our community. It makes us feel good about ourselves when we pass by and shake our heads… “at least we aren’t like them!”
But here’s what I know… God hasn’t designed us for poolside living! That every day we sit there in the sun, we lose one day of the life we could have… the life that God offers us… the life that God wants for us.
But here’s the good news to all of us in a lounge chair… Jesus just walked in… truly, all we have to do is look up…. make eye contact with the God of healing. That’s step 3! To make a connection and a decision to turn our lives over to that higher power… And whether we recognize it or not… this offer comes to us every moment of every day… God asks … do you want to be made well? And God cuts through every excuse we’ve got, ever fear we’ve got, every pain we’ve got… and instead of condemning you for them, Jesus offers you his hand… Stand up… take up your mat and walk…
Prayer from the AA Big Book- Step 3
God, I offer myself to Thee-
To build with me
and to do with me as Thou wilt.
Relieve me of the bondage of self,
that I may better do Thy will.
Take away my difficulties,
that victory over them may bear witness
to those I would help of Thy Power,
Thy Love, and Thy Way of life.
May I do Thy will always!
Copyright © Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
John 5.1-23
5After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. 3In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” 7The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.” 8Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” 9At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. Now that day was a Sabbath. 10So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” 11But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’” 12They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” 13Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there. 14Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well!
If you’ve been with us during this series on the 12 steps, or if you’re familiar with the 12 steps at all, then you may have begun to notice that the 12 steps are more like a lifelong journey rather than just a short walk. The ideas and actions in each step aren’t something you can just wake up one morning and decide to embrace all at once- each step takes time to grasp, and sometimes they overlap and intersect.
So to review- Step 1: Admitted we were powerless over (whatever your addiction) and that our lives were unmanageable.... And, at least in this room, we all related to Step 1 in some way- we agreed that all of us, are addicted to or struggle with something- and that we are all powerless to overcome it on our own strength. We likened it to the power of sin- as Apostle Paul pointed out when he said, “the very thing I don’t want to do, I do…all fall short, etc.”
Then last month we talked about Step 2: Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. And we talked about the struggle to believe- that as much as we want to believe in something or someone who could make our lives better, we suffer from an affliction called doubt; while on the one hand we rush to God's side and say “Yes Lord I believe!” in the next breath we plead, “Help, Lord, my unbelief…”And we discussed just how scary it is to put our lives in the hands of anyone else but “me.” (If I can't do it, no one can, etc.)
So today, as we talk about step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God (as I understood God) we need to talk about how to move from fear to faith. For some of us, that is a pretty big jump. So let’s look at one man’s example...
In the passage, Jesus and his disciples are traveling to Jerusalem for a festival- a huge festival. And like many religious destinations, there were places where one would go specifically for healing. The Sheep Gate, one of the entrances to the temple area was such a place.
Now, by the Sheep gate, there was a pool, believed to have healing powers. The best modern example I can think of is Lourdes, in France. And by the pool were porches, or levels, where people who needed healing would wait to get into the water. Among them, many invalids—blind, sick, and paralyzed.
All those people laying there waiting to be healed- like an emergency waiting room- or a bread line- or a sanctuary… and in walks Jesus. And one man among them catches his eye; one who was sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus knew that he had been there a long time, and he walks over and stands right next to him… and the man looks up at Jesus.
Now I’m not sure what the sick man may have been thinking at that moment. Surely after being there for 38 years; (did you hear that… 38 years… who here is over 38? Can you imagine being sick for 38 years? Living with something 38 years? Fighting something for 38 years? Anyone be battling that long… with anything? How about 10 years… 5 years… 1 year? It doesn’t really matter does it… when you are in need of healing, it doesn’t matter if its 38 years or 38 minutes, it can seem like forever… ) And surely in that 38 years of poolside living, he had been approached by numerous people trying to help him… some possibly giving him food, or a blanket… many I'm sure with the "cure" or "the answer" or "the way to fix himself"- there is never a shortage of advice. And while some people wanted to help, there were surely, in 38 years, also some who took pleasure in tormenting him… poking fun, or worse, degrading him in some way… As the man looked up he must have wondered- was Jesus here to help or hurt?
Or was this stranger staring down at him someone else… maybe someone he got drunk with once and forgotten the face; perhaps he was a dealer offering something to ease the pain? Or maybe that bill collector he had been avoiding from the credit card company… the repo man come to get his car… or was it Jennie Craig in the flesh? Lots of people come to us in our pain. But whoever this guy was, he was smack dab in the middle of his space, and it was beginning to make the sick man uncomfortable.
And Jesus breaks the silence, “Do you want to be made well?”
"Well what kind of a question is that? Of course I want to be made well, doesn’t every sick person want to be made well? Doesn’t everyone who is struggling with something want it to be taken away to stop the cycle of madness? Don’t we all want to be free from the things that are keeping us from enjoying life more fully? Don’t we all want the kind of freedom that comes from not being addicted so we can get on with our dreams and start living life in the land of "if only." (If only I were healthy, sober, rich, thin, tall, pretty, smart...)
We do, don’t we? I don’t want to be this way anymore. I hate being fat! I could buy the coolest clothes and have such a great life if I were thin! I dream about it! I have little magazine cutouts on my fridge of pretty people in bikinis for motivation! That’s why I come and sit near this healing pool every day! And go to the grocery store and buy kale & kelp and Styrofoam rice cakes! Of course I want to be made well!
But the sick man doesn’t say that… he never answers Jesus' question… instead, he explains why he's been living poolside for 38 years and has never made it into the water!
“Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.”
Wait a minute! I know this song J And I know everyone in this room does too. For every vow we’ve taken to stop the insanity, we have an excuse to go with it on why we couldn’t make it to the pool. And most of those excuses blame everyone else for the problem but me.
And listen, I’m not saying that any of the things on our laundry lists are not valid. There are some bad things that may have happened to us in our lives… I know the pain of an abusive past; I know how much pressure comes from being brought up in the wrong area, or the wrong household, or from having the wrong ‘friends’…I know the economy stinks, and jobs are scarce, relationships are strained... and it's easy to see why we seek out things to serve as an escape from the pain and pressure- and so we eat sugar, and drink, and do drugs, and shop, and spend, and watch porn, and play video games.
And although we may recognize that we are powerless over these things, and want to believe in the healing pool of that we’ve parked ourselves next to for the last 38 years, for some reason, we can rattle off a list of excuses as to why we can’t make our way to the water-
For some reason, it’s just too scary to get our feet wet. And I get that… because once I get healed from this addiction; I’m not going to have my crutches anymore. Once I make a decision to be healed by this God, the God whom I have confessed has the power to heal me, it means I won’t be able to live this way anymore, and frankly, it’s become comfortable here by the pool. And I have a whole system of people around me who, even if they get angry from time to time, they bring me food and blankets and even feel sorry for me… and I get to feel sorry for me too. Deciding to trust, and moving toward the water means I will have to do things and be things and live out things that are bigger than what I can see right now… and what if I fail… or worse… what if I am successful!
We don’t think of that too often… that it may be scary to be more than we are right now- that being all God has designed for us to be, or living out our potential... well, is intimidating. Marianne Williamson says, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.”
You see, it’s easy to buy into the lie that we are less than. It’s easy to believe what society tells us; that we are not measuring up, and frankly never will… or that there is something desperately wrong with us that needs fixing (that they can sell us a remedy for, by the way). It’s easier to believe that we can do nothing than believe that we are called to some higher purpose in this world. Who wants to be Mother Teresa for crying out loud? Or have some major political role where people depend on you, and you have to lead others? Who really wants to work toward fighting crime, or feeding the homeless, or fighting injustice? Who wants to commit to every week teaching Sunday school, or working a soup kitchen, or preaching peace? All of that takes more than what I’m capable of for sure… so instead, I’ll put on a little suntan lotion and stay put.
But here’s the amazing part of this story. Jesus doesn’t wait for the man to say 'yes Lord, I want to be healed,' before he intervenes. Jesus doesn’t wait for us to ask for help before he steps in with an answer… Did you notice that? Jesus listens to the list of why not’s that the man has constructed, and he doesn’t condemn him for them either. Jesus gets it. He understand where the list of excuses comes from and he knows the fear in the man's heart… he knows everything about him- every intimate detail- and has suffered with him through every heartbreak...
So instead of calling him out on where he is, or making him feel bad about it, and instead of even helping him into the water (as I’m sure others have tried to do in the past), Jesus cuts to the chase and offers him a future outside of poolside living…
And kneels down next to the man, looks into his eyes and says “Stand up. Pick up your mat and walk”
And something happens… maybe it was just time… maybe it was the tone of Jesus’ voice… maybe it was the healing power in his words… but whatever it was, at that moment, this sunburned blistered child of God made a decision to trust the one offering him some aloe… this man who had lived the better part of his life parched and dry while the waters of healing lay just feet away, decided that today… he would stand up, not in his own power, but in the power of the Lord. And he was made well…
And it would be so cool if our story ended right there… Wouldn’t it be wonderful to embrace healing and stand up all straightened out and go on with being everything you are standing up to be? And wouldn’t it be great if everyone around you, who saw you laying by that pool for so long would be happy for you?
But here’s the next verse: Now that day was a sabbath. 10So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, “It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” Really?
Wait a minute, what happened to: “hey, here is this guy who was sick for so long up and about! He’s had some healing going on, let’s celebrate!” No… most of the time when we decide to take a step toward God, the world doesn’t give us a standing ovation.
Most of the time, when we step out in faith, or step up to be more than we are right now, or decide to trust God with our lives, and take a stand, so to speak, we get lots of people telling us why we can’t do it, or that we’re doing it wrong, or that we’re sure to fail;
or they pick on something about us that is unrelated to what we’re trying to do!
And sadly, we aren’t very good at encouraging one another- even in the church… Someone has a spiritual or emotional breakthrough and we look out of the corner of our eye at the... "oooohhh, good for YOU!"
Why do we do it to each other? I truly believe that goes back to the fact that we all in some way shape or form, are afraid to admit that we also have a lounge chair staked out by the side of the pool.
And maybe part of it is, that seeing someone leave the pool is a powerful witness… it might even make us mindful of our own need to get out of the sun. And further, maybe we don’t like the thought that our neighbor won’t be there anymore to pass us an umbrella drink.
In fact, there are those who pass by the pool and look at you day after day, and guess what? They aren’t eager for you to leave the pool either. We like having the sick and the paralyzed in our community. It makes us feel good about ourselves when we pass by and shake our heads… “at least we aren’t like them!”
But here’s what I know… God hasn’t designed us for poolside living! That every day we sit there in the sun, we lose one day of the life we could have… the life that God offers us… the life that God wants for us.
But here’s the good news to all of us in a lounge chair… Jesus just walked in… truly, all we have to do is look up…. make eye contact with the God of healing. That’s step 3! To make a connection and a decision to turn our lives over to that higher power… And whether we recognize it or not… this offer comes to us every moment of every day… God asks … do you want to be made well? And God cuts through every excuse we’ve got, ever fear we’ve got, every pain we’ve got… and instead of condemning you for them, Jesus offers you his hand… Stand up… take up your mat and walk…
Prayer from the AA Big Book- Step 3
God, I offer myself to Thee-
To build with me
and to do with me as Thou wilt.
Relieve me of the bondage of self,
that I may better do Thy will.
Take away my difficulties,
that victory over them may bear witness
to those I would help of Thy Power,
Thy Love, and Thy Way of life.
May I do Thy will always!
Copyright © Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.