Sixth Sunday of Easter:
Rise and Walk
13 May 2007

Text: Psalm 67: 67:0    TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. A PSALM. A SONG.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! 6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!

John 5:1-9: 1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.  Now that day was the Sabbath.

Introduction

Can anything top a mother’s optimism? Every mother believes her child can do anything, accomplish anything. Then, imagine the heartbreak experienced by a mother when the child doesn’t meet expectations.

In first century Judea, a lame child was more than a disappointment. In a society without a government social safety net, a lame child was a lifelong burden on his parents. Therefore, the parents of the man in this story could hardly expect to wait around beside a pool for him to experience healing.

Now, let’s see this from the child’s perspective. Imagine waiting for 38 years — not days, not months, but years — to see take a step in your life. Imagine seeing the disappointment on your parents’ face as they brought you to the pool for healing each day, only to return at the end of the day to carry you back home.

The man in this passage from John didn’t have to imagine the scenario. For him, this was life. Yet, his parents continued to bring him to the pool; he continued to go every day. Something told him that one day, he would experience healing and make his parents proud. How would we have responded? Would we wait for something this long? Would we give up hope? Or would we believe that God could work in our lives even while we waited to walk?

Regardless of your answer to these questions, we must take heart that God will help us to rise and walk in forgiveness and in His strength. We serve a God who can make the most of the worst situation and use it to prepare us for great things. In due time, God raises us to accomplish great things in life that we may bring honor to Him and to the Church.

Sermon

“After this” refers to the account at the end of chapter 4. In this account, Jesus healed a man’s son when the man simply believe Jesus when He said, “Go; your son will live.” The man took Jesus at His word and left Him alone. The man’s son was healed at that moment. St. John records this as Jesus’ second miracle.

Jesus then traveled to Jerusalem for a festival. We don’t know which festival Jesus had attended at this time, only that a major feast was a great time to visit the spiritual capital of the Jews.

For some reason, Jesus went to the pool of Bethesda. (Did you ever wonder where the name for the naval hospital originated?) At certain times, the water of this pool was troubled, supposedly by an angel. The first person to enter the water was healed of their infirmity. Unfortunately, lots of people gathered there, and those in better health always made it into the water first.

This time, Jesus saw the man lying there. Jesus asked a simple question: “Do you want to be healed?” Who wouldn’t answer this with a “yes”? This man, however, went further: Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Every day this man went to the pool expecting a miracle. Every day, he had seen his hopes dashed.

This was his day! The One who had sent the angel could certainly heal the man, or anyone at the pool. The One who sent the angel had visited the pool Himself on this day. Jesus told him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”

What would the man do? Had 38 years of disappointment beaten out any faith the man ever possessed? Not likely! The man “took up his bed and walked.” Regardless of the day — it was the Sabbath, St. John informs us — the man instantly believed Jesus and experienced the healing he had desperately sought for nearly 4 decades.

What do we see in this story? Do we see anything here for us?

First, we find that faith plays an important role in anything we want to do in our spiritual lives. I asked earlier: what would you do after nearly 4 decades of disappointment? Would you still demonstrate the faith of this man? We are told in Hebrews that “without faith it is impossible to please God” (11:6).

Too often, we pray for something expecting an immediate answer. We expect God to fulfill our requests immediately. This man probably prayed for years that he would make it to the water on that day. God had a reason for making the man wait. God has a reason for making you wait for the answer to your prayer.

Secondly, we see that someone has more optimism about you than your mother: Your heavenly Father. God created you for a great purpose. We are told in the Revelation that “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (4:11). You were created for God’s pleasure. This may frighten us because of our modern view of “pleasure.” We see pleasure as manipulation for someone else’s desires. However, when we remember that God loves us with a sacrificial love — a love that cost Him His Son — we know that God will never do anything to us that isn’t in our best interest.

Too often in our lives, however, our sin removes us from God. Like the man beside the pool, we want to enter the source of healing; we want a close relationship with God. We want to read our Bibles, attend worship, and live godly lives before the world. Instead, we find that our sin removes us from the place of blessing. Fortunately, the One who healed the man beside the pool provides spiritual healing for us today. Jesus did more than heal a man in Jerusalem; He provided healing for all humanity through His death on the cross.

Once we confess Jesus as Lord of our lives, we find that we can fulfill God’s purpose for us. We find we have a new life, a spiritual life that gives us a real relationship with our Creator.

Lastly, I believe we see something else in this story. Thirty-eight years seemed a long time to wait for an answered prayer for healing. If we existed only in this life, I’d agree; 38 years would be most of my life. However, we live for eternity. Thirty-eight years is nothing when compared with eternity. If God makes us wait for something, the wait prepares us for a glorious eternity beyond our imagination.

Only our heavenly Father can love us more than a mother. The encounter with Jesus brought this man more joy than anything else in his life. An encounter with Christ will help you rise above everything keeping you from God and help you walk in joy and love for all eternity.