“Do You Want to Be Made Well?”

During the month of February we continue with our sermon series on the Gospel of John.  And this month the focus is on healing stories.  We’ll witness the healing of a man who had some kind of infirmity for 38 years, the healing of a man blind from birth, and, perhaps the ultimate healing story, the raising of Lazarus.

In John 5, the man with the 38-year-long infirmity keeps trying to crawl to a pool when it gets stirred up in hopes of being healed.  When Jesus asks him directly, “Do you want to be made well?”, he responds with a complaint about how he has no one to take him to the pool when the waters get stirred up.  At that moment, the man seems more focused on getting to the pool than he does on getting healed.  It might be a bit like Jesus asking me if I wanted to be made well, and then I respond, “Jesus, can you help me resolve this dispute with my health insurance carrier?” (Full disclosure: I would love to be made well in the deepest and fullest sense and get all the insurance issues straightened out!)

Nonetheless, the most important question remains: “Do you want to be made well?”  Not just “do you want to be cured of disease?” but also “do you seek healing and wholeness for your minds, bodies, and spirits?”

The Season of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, February 18, is an opportunity to explore that question.  What does it mean for me to seek healing and wholeness in the fullest sense?  Am I willing to let go of routines that might be cumbersome but are also known and in some sense comfortable?  As a nation, are we willing to let go of our addiction to outrage and seek a politics that helps heal the human spirit?  Are we willing to be held accountable for injustices and ask the challenging questions about how we can move forward?

I recently read somewhere that the alternative to “learned helplessness” is “learned hopefulness.”  Somewhere at the center of our messy, uncertain, pain-filled, but also beautiful and joy-filled lives is the Jesus who turns to us and asks, “Do you want to be made well?” 

I look forward to seeing you on Sundays as we explore the Gospel of John together.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jack