JUST OUT OF REACH
“Do you want to be well?”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is on his way to worship in Jerusalem. He happens upon a sick man who is unable to get to the healing waters of Bethesda to alleviate his malady. The man had been sick for 38 years and longed to be healed, though it was just out of his reach. The one thing that could make him whole just beyond his grasp.
It seems almost in passing that Jesus calls to the man and asks “Do you want to be well?”. It could have been a footnote in Jesus’ day. Yet, in that moment, Jesus was able to bridge the chasm that the man never could. As simple as that, the man was able to rise and walk away. With that simple question, Christ asks to be the bridge over our chasms as well.
This sick man, in so many ways, is much like many of us. Whether physical, mental, or spiritual, we all long to be healed. Yet, we can find ourselves stuck on our own mats, longing for something just beyond our reach. We long to be seen, heard, and known. We yearn most of all for God. Like the man, Christ stands in front of us and asks: “Do you want to be well?”
What are our illnesses? What is it that keeps us on our mats? Do we recognize Christ calling us to rise?
Matt Keppel