John 5: 1-15
You will need to get up and walk, the doctor said. Even the first day – the same day as the surgery. At least five to ten minutes every hour.
He went on to explain that this is the most important thing a patient can do, because walking pushes the various systems in the body back online. Walking is key to recovering from surgery.
This pre-op conversation did not surprise me in the least. The "move it or lose it" mentality is hardly a new medical breakthrough, and I was quick to tell the doctor that I would follow his instructions to the letter. I am an able-bodied athletic person. I run, swim, hike, and bike with ease. Walking would be no problem whatsoever.
But the afternoon of my surgery, after the medication had worn off, I felt quite differently. It was painful just to breathe, let alone sit up. And walking? Walking seemed impossible, so I just threw myself a pity party right on the couch.
The prospect of walking seems impossible for the man in this story of Jesus. It is not just his pain, but the lack of support from people around him that makes getting into the pool an insurmountable obstacle. How does Jesus respond to this situation? Jesus doesn’t start with pity. Jesus starts by reminding this man that he is a human being, and therefore he has choices. Jesus first asks the man what he wants, because Jesus knows that all healing begins with a desire to be different. Certainly, professional medical intervention is often required, but in order to be made well, the sick must hope for, and believe in, their own capacity to be change.
The day of my surgery, it was nothing less than an act of faith to get up, despite the pain, and walk every hour: It was faith in the doctor’s instructions, faith in my own body’s ability to withstand the pain, but most of all, faith that something would be different with each step. It was nothing less than an act of faith for this man to hear Jesus’ invitation, and trust that despite all of his experience to the contrary, he could be made well. And it is nothing less than an act of faith for us to believe that we can both make change in our world and be changed in the process.
PRAYER: God-with-us, stir up in the us a desire to imagine that a different world is possible. Strengthen our faith, that each day, we may step into this new reality, as your changemakers on earth. Amen.
PROMPT: What is it that you most want to change about your life, your family, or your community? What is one specific way that you could step out in faith to manifest that change?