Going Through the Motions
03/23/09 08:09 Filed in: Health
"When Jesus saw him lying, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wouldest thou be made whole?" (John 5: 1-16)
We are all creatures of habit; some healthy habits, some not so healthy. We fall back on our habits without giving it any conscious thought. We do so because our habitual ways of acting feel familiar and comfortable. We don’t have to think about it.
We are all creatures of habit; some healthy habits, some not so healthy. We fall back on our habits without giving it any conscious thought. We do so because our habitual ways of acting feel familiar and comfortable. We don’t have to think about it.
"When Jesus saw him lying, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wouldest thou be made whole?" (John 5: 1-16)
A woman walked up to a little old man rocking in a chair on his porch.
"I couldn't help noticing how happy you look," she said. "What's your secret for a long happy life?"
"I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day," he said. "I also drink a case of whiskey a week, eat fatty foods, and never exercise."
"That's amazing," the woman said. "How old are you?'
"Twenty-six," he said.
We are all creatures of habit; some healthy habits, some not so healthy. We fall back on our habits without giving it any conscious thought. We do so because our habitual ways of acting feel familiar and comfortable. We don’t have to think about it.
Strange as it may seem, the lame man lying on his mat near the pool of Bethesda was in his comfort zone. We are told that he had been an invalid for 38 years - - a lifetime in those days. In all that time he had never questioned his habitual way of thinking about ridding himself of his crippling handicap. He wasn’t just lame; he was downcast, resigned to lying on his mat and begging for handouts from passersby.
All about him were other hope-filled people who had come to the pool to be healed of their infirmities. The cleansing waters of the spring-fed pool were used to wash sheep before sacrificing them in the temple. The purifying waters were also believed to cleanse the soul of any sins that might have led to illness. The very name Bethesda, meant "house of mercy," which was what every supplicant sought.
According to tradition, the first person to enter the water after it had been stirred by an angel would be cured. Yet, in 38 years, the invalid had never figured out how to be the first one in the pool. He was a prisoner of habitual thinking. Lying on his mat in the portico, he caught the eye of Jesus, who asked:
“Wouldest thou be made whole?”
Instead of answering, "Yes," the man gave an excuse for why he hadn't been healed by now. He just couldn't seem to help himself.
Does his response sound like a practiced answer, one he might have given in despair of things ever changing? Does it sound like the kind of rationalization we might muster to defend our own unhealthy habits? Many modern illnesses are simply the result of lifestyle choices - - bad habits.
“Wouldest thou be made whole?”
The invalid never actually said, "Yes." He hesitated as if unsure how to respond. After all, it he were healed, he would have to change his habitual way of life.
But Jesus didn’t wait for an answer. He took it upon Himself to show mercy to the man. All the cripple had to do was pick up his mat and take the first, faltering steps.
The same question that Jesus put to the lame man is one that He puts to everyone struggling with negative habits. All He expects is that we take the first small steps “lest a worse thing befall thee.”
During Lent, we are called to take steps to improve our lives through fasting and abstinence. Like the cripple, our spiritual transformation may manifest itself in our outward appearance. And, in that sense, we will be twice blessed.
A woman walked up to a little old man rocking in a chair on his porch.
"I couldn't help noticing how happy you look," she said. "What's your secret for a long happy life?"
"I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day," he said. "I also drink a case of whiskey a week, eat fatty foods, and never exercise."
"That's amazing," the woman said. "How old are you?'
"Twenty-six," he said.
We are all creatures of habit; some healthy habits, some not so healthy. We fall back on our habits without giving it any conscious thought. We do so because our habitual ways of acting feel familiar and comfortable. We don’t have to think about it.
Strange as it may seem, the lame man lying on his mat near the pool of Bethesda was in his comfort zone. We are told that he had been an invalid for 38 years - - a lifetime in those days. In all that time he had never questioned his habitual way of thinking about ridding himself of his crippling handicap. He wasn’t just lame; he was downcast, resigned to lying on his mat and begging for handouts from passersby.
All about him were other hope-filled people who had come to the pool to be healed of their infirmities. The cleansing waters of the spring-fed pool were used to wash sheep before sacrificing them in the temple. The purifying waters were also believed to cleanse the soul of any sins that might have led to illness. The very name Bethesda, meant "house of mercy," which was what every supplicant sought.
According to tradition, the first person to enter the water after it had been stirred by an angel would be cured. Yet, in 38 years, the invalid had never figured out how to be the first one in the pool. He was a prisoner of habitual thinking. Lying on his mat in the portico, he caught the eye of Jesus, who asked:
“Wouldest thou be made whole?”
Instead of answering, "Yes," the man gave an excuse for why he hadn't been healed by now. He just couldn't seem to help himself.
Does his response sound like a practiced answer, one he might have given in despair of things ever changing? Does it sound like the kind of rationalization we might muster to defend our own unhealthy habits? Many modern illnesses are simply the result of lifestyle choices - - bad habits.
“Wouldest thou be made whole?”
The invalid never actually said, "Yes." He hesitated as if unsure how to respond. After all, it he were healed, he would have to change his habitual way of life.
But Jesus didn’t wait for an answer. He took it upon Himself to show mercy to the man. All the cripple had to do was pick up his mat and take the first, faltering steps.
The same question that Jesus put to the lame man is one that He puts to everyone struggling with negative habits. All He expects is that we take the first small steps “lest a worse thing befall thee.”
During Lent, we are called to take steps to improve our lives through fasting and abstinence. Like the cripple, our spiritual transformation may manifest itself in our outward appearance. And, in that sense, we will be twice blessed.
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