Imagine a doctor going into a hospital filled with sick patients. The doctor then walks into a room with a patient who has been disabled by an illness for 38 years. The doctor then asks a surprising question, “Do you want to get well?”
At first, it seems obvious, doesn’t it? Of course he wants to get well. What sort of poor bedside manner would lead the doctor to ask such an insensitive question?
However, this is exactly what Jesus did. The pool of Bethesda was a gathering place for the sick and infirm seeking the reputed healing of the water when an angel would stir the pool. Surrounded by the sick and disabled, Jesus goes to one man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years and asks him the question, “Do you want to get well?”
Jesus was neither ignorant nor naive. He wasn’t uncaring. So, why ask such a question? On the surface, you would think anyone who wasn’t well, would want to get well. But on further consideration, that’s not always true.
Sometimes, we develop an unhealthy dependency on whatever ails us. We may find our identity in wearing a certain label. We may fear what true wellness entails. We may not want to accept the responsibilities and expectations of wellness. Cheeseburgers and Twinkies are comfortable and convenient. Health and fitness are hard work.
And I’m not just talking about physical health. The sick man was disabled by more than not being able to walk. He was crippled by a loneliness that had abandoned him to the pool. He was handicapped by cold, inflexible religious rules that cared nothing for him as an individual.
This Sunday we consider this question for our lives. Jesus offers healing of life, heart and soul to the whole world, and yet few are those who will find it. When He asks, “Do you want to get well?” It turns out far more answer, “No” than you would ever expect.
How about you. “Do you want to get well?”