Around the pool near the Sheep Gate are large numbers of blind, lame
and paralyzed people. These are the ailments that we Christians often
suffer from: — blindness — we cannot see where Jesus is leading us or
where we should go in life; — lameness and paralysis — we can see but
have difficulty walking along Jesus’ way. During this Lenten season let
us hear Jesus asking us the question he puts to the man: “Do you want
to be well again? Do you want to be made whole again?”
Do we truly want to be “well,” with the total wellness that Jesus
brings, that healing of soul which is freedom from sin and a deep
relationship with him? Jesus comes to us precisely when all our human
solutions have failed. Let us never give up hope. Jesus expects us to
trust in him and not surrender to bitter frustration.
Jesus wastes no time. He tells the lame man: “Rise up! Pick up your
sleeping-mat and walk.” The man is immediately cured and walks away.
Later, Jesus tells the man to complete his healing by abandoning a life
of sin, bringing body and spirit into full harmony and wholeness. Let
us ask Jesus to do the same for us.
