{"id":7423,"date":"2024-08-01T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T00:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7423"},"modified":"2024-09-13T08:49:36","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T00:49:36","slug":"329-but-you-need-to-stand-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7423","title":{"rendered":"329. But You Need to Stand Up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong><sup>2\u00a0<\/sup>Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Bethzatha, which has five porticoes.\u00a0<sup>3\u00a0<\/sup>In these lay many ill, blind, lame, and paralyzed people, waiting for the moving of the water, <sup>4<\/sup> for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and troubled the water; whoever stepped in first after the troubling of the water was healed of whatever sickness he had. <sup>5\u00a0<\/sup>One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.\u00a0<sup>6\u00a0<\/sup>When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, \u201c<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Do you want to be made well?<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<sup>7\u00a0<\/sup>The ill man answered him, \u201cSir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am making my way someone else steps down ahead of me.\u201d\u00a0<sup>8\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus said to him, \u201cStand up, take your mat and walk.\u201d\u00a0<sup>9\u00a0<\/sup>At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> [<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">John 5:2-9<\/span>, <em>NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pool-of-Bethesda-Nathan-Greene.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7424\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pool-of-Bethesda-Nathan-Greene.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"977\" height=\"760\" \/> <\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Pool of Bethesda<\/em>, Nathan Greene.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">At the pool of Bethesda, Jesus commands a man sick for 38 years to do three things:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">to resolve to stand up (stop lying there!);<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">to stop this perpetually sick fa\u00e7ade and give up his comfortable mat (shut down your comfort zone!); and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">to start walking (stop this never-ending excuse to justify reliance on external support).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is a life changing encounter for the sick man, to say the least. Though brief, this is a stunning revelatory text just as the whole Gospel of John is. Jesus\u2019 first command in healing the man is to stand up. You need to stand up. You don\u2019t need those \u201cclutches\u201d anymore. Pick them up, walk away, go and do something useful with your life! But first, you need to stand up! To \u201cstand up\u201d symbolizes a decision to do something for oneself, to act responsibly, to put paid to all excuses. Let\u2019s get into the story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Jesus spotted a sick man at the poolside. At a glance, one gets the basic information about him. He just lies there. Next to him, artists usually add a pair of clutches to show him as an invalid (often referred to as a paralytic). Like many others, he is hoping to get healed through some old superstition that says the first person who gets into the pool when the water is stirred by an angel, will receive healing of whatever sickness he has. St John supplies a critical detail of which the narrative presumes the Son of God is aware, and that is this man has been sick for 38 years. That he has not been healed all this time is, according to the man himself, due to the fact that he could never get into the pool in time because nobody helped him, and others got in once the pool was stirred by an angel. He needs help. His need for compassion and mercy is obvious. It has been 38 years!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Given the narrative content, for Jesus to ask the man right upon their encounter, \u201cDo you want to be healed?\u201d seems surprising indeed. Why did Jesus ask a question about the &#8220;obvious&#8221;? What could the Lord possibly be looking for?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Jesus of the Gospels is not one who asks frivolous questions. So it has been suggested that Jesus here teaches us not to jump into assumptions, but to seek clarification and then discern about people\u2019s needs, before we dive in to help. This suggestion sounds like a platitude. Given the facts, an invalid for 38 years lying at the poolside of a traditional miracle pool desiring to be healed is clearly beyond question. Yet, if we care to dig further, there seems to be merits in this view at a deeper, psychological level. If that is true, then psychology is an inherent element in spirituality and deserves our attention as well in biblical meditation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">First, if Jesus&#8217; question &#8211; \u201cDo you want to be healed?\u201d &#8211;\u00a0 is surprising, it is because he wants the man to think clearly what he really wants, to own it, to say it out, and to be spiritually and personally responsible for what he says. Indeed, if we may make a passing note here, it is prudent in counselling to get the client to own a decision and not rely on a lame excuse later when hard consequences arise &#8211; \u201cOh, I was told to do this and that\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If the man says, \u201cYes, I want to be healed,\u201d he has to face the demands that follow his statement, including taking all necessary follow-up actions that come with that answer, and bearing the consequences of his wish.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Second, questions differ in types. There are information-seeking questions, trap questions, rhetorical or declaratory questions, questions that scold and even condemn the one being \u201casked\u201d, questions that seek help or forgiveness, questions that actually operate to reveal deep-down hidden truths, and so on. St John\u2019s Gospel is<strong><em> a revelatory text<\/em><\/strong>. As we read, it pays to always keep our eyes peeled for revelation. Thus alerted, we at once see that Jesus\u2019 singular question to the man at the pool of Bethesda is neither information-seeking, nor strange. We sense that he is exposing something hidden below the surface. What is it? What gets <strong><em>revealed<\/em><\/strong> here?<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We all need healing of some sort, including healing from ongoing sins in our lives, from addictions and obsessions, from wounds of our painful circumstances, and from our misshapen views of God through bad examples or teachings, and so on.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But Jesus does not ask about our real needs; he knows our need for healing. He is asking: \u201cDo you <strong><em>really<\/em><\/strong> want to be made well?\u201d on account of the psychological blockages and resistances inside of us.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With that, like the man at the poolside, we are <strong><em>compelled<\/em><\/strong> to look <strong><em>inside<\/em><\/strong> ourselves, because \u201chealing\u201d means a great deal of other burdensome things as well, such as:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2713 admitting that it\u2019s a bad place we are in (\u201c<u>emotionally ruinous<\/u>\u201d?),<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2713 willing to let go of what is familiar and comfortable (\u201c<u>comfort zone<\/u>\u201d?),<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2713 releasing ourselves totally to God\u2019s care (\u201c<u>detachment<\/u>\u201d?),<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2713 giving over to God the control over our lifestyle (\u201c<u>trust in God<\/u>\u201d?),<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2713 taking some measure of risk on our part (\u201c<u>walk the risk<\/u>\u201d?), and<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2713 leaving what we once were and moving forward into the unknown with Jesus (\u201c<u>into the unknown<\/u>\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thirdly, quietly and unobtrusively, Jesus is issuing a challenge in that seemingly \u201cmundane\u201d question. Translated, \u201cDo you <strong><em><u>really<\/u><\/em><\/strong> want to be made well?\u201d both searches and reveals. If we are not so thick-skinned, we will admit that this question embarrasses as it exposes our tricks, our lies, our clever cover-ups all along. Come on, it has been \u201c38 years\u201d, and you are still lying there, content to rely on a stupid little old superstition, enjoying the trite \u201csympathies\u201d the rest of the world casts on you, resting comfortably on a \u201clie\u201d? All told, you are resting in a comfort zone too, are you not? What have you done for yourself to really move on with life? You do not seriously want a change of lifestyle, do you, or you wouldn\u2019t be lying there doing nothing all this time, would you?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Think about Bartimaeus in Mark 10 for a moment. Before encountering Bartimaeus, Jesus had made his third passion-prediction. At the end of Jesus&#8217; journey and now at the threshold of Jerusalem, this blind beggar cried to Jesus for mercy. He <em>really<\/em> wanted to be healed, to have his sight restored by Jesus so he could \u201csee\u201d again. Look, he was in his \u201ccomfort zone\u201d too. Sitting by the roadside with his trademark beggar\u2019s mantle over him, he gained pity from passers-by and made a living out of people\u2019s sympathy. That mantle was a powerful tool of trade. Yet, the moment Jesus called him over, Scripture presents the picture in IMAX high resolution:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>he<\/em> <strong><em><u>sprang<\/u><\/em><\/strong><em> to his feet<\/em>, <em><u><strong>threw off<\/strong><\/u><\/em><em> his mantle<\/em>, and <strong><em><u>came<\/u><\/em><\/strong> <em>to Jesus<\/em>.<\/span><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">These are three active, energized, action-packed verbs which reveal that the mountain has shifted in the spirit of this man called Bartimaeus. And surprisingly, we read here the same three responses (in surplus) Jesus wanted from the man at the poolside: <em>Bartimaeus stood up<\/em> (he even <em>sprang<\/em> to his feet); <em>he stopped relying on external support<\/em> (like the apostles who left their fishing nets and boats or tax-office upon being called, he too <em>\u201cthrew off\u201d his tool of trade<\/em>); he came to Jesus (a clear sign of positive response to Jesus\u2019 call and to follow him). He was willing and ready to sacrifice his most important possession \u2013 his mantle, his tool of trade \u2013 to get healed. He acted rightly by God. There too, Jesus asked Bartimaeus a pretty obvious question: \u201cWhat do you want me to do for you?\u201d The blind beggar asked for the gift of sight. When, as Jesus approached the cross, even the apostles and the religious leaders were \u201cblind\u201d to what Jesus was doing and what he was about, for Bartimaeus to ask for sight so he could \u201csee\u201d is heavily faith-loaded and most pleasing to Jesus. So Jesus at once granted his wish. Unlike the blind man whom Jesus healed at Bethsaida at the beginning of his journey to Jerusalem (Mark 8), Bartimaeus was named in Mark\u2019s Gospel because he \u201cfollowed\u201d Jesus after his healing. To \u201cfollow\u201d Jesus in Mark, is to follow him all the way to the cross \u2013 that is the mark of a true Christian disciple.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And so, Jesus just said real simply to the man at the pool of Bethesda, invalid for 38 years:<\/span><\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201c<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em>Stand up<\/em><\/strong>, <em>take your mat<\/em> and <em>walk<\/em><\/span>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The man heard the command from Jesus the Word of God, and at once obeyed. Healing took place right there and right then as the Word was obeyed. This is <em>essential<\/em> St John. His Gospel presents a unique dimension of Christology where Jesus is revealed as the \u201cWord made flesh\u201d (John 1:14), who gives life in abundance (John 10:10), so that all who believe in the Son of God will have life (John 20:30).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Nothing said about dipping in the pool or competing with others to be the first to take the dip. Not a word about an old tradition of visitation by \u201csadistic\u201d angels who stirred the water to heal top sprinters of the likes of Usian Bolt or resourceful patients who came equipped with paid assistants. These latter could well afford specialist doctors and did not warrant free priority care by God\u2019s angels.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">All this reminds us of the parallels to Jesus\u2019 teaching on our need for pruning in John 15:2.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Which parts of your life are not bearing fruit?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2713What attitudes, beliefs, or thought patterns are no longer life-giving for you or others and what would it take to remove and let go of them?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2713What\u2019s getting in the way of the life you want to live and the person you want to be?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2713What keeps you isolated and disconnected from yourself, from others, and from God?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2713What prevents you from flourishing?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Maybe there are some branches in the tree of your life that need to be removed. What would that take? How would you do that? Who could help you with that?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019s a choice in each of our lives &#8211; a choice to reshape life and flourish or continue living a misshapen life.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What in your life today needs reshaping so you may flourish? It\u2019s never too late. That\u2019s the promise of Easter.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Finally, look at Jesus in action and visualise what he desires to see in \u201cthe Church at Bethesda\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Followers of Christ <strong><em><u>see<\/u><\/em><\/strong> the persons in need of help. If we do not see, or choose not to see, we do not stop, we move on, and they get no help.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Followers of Christ <strong><em><u>stop<\/u><\/em><\/strong> to ask what they want us to do for them, and we <strong><em><u>listen<\/u><\/em><\/strong> well to what they say. In doing so, we shall <strong><em><u>hear<\/u><\/em><\/strong> better the cries of all at the margins of society and of the Church and are better able to <strong><em><u>discern<\/u><\/em><\/strong> their real needs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the end, followers of Christ <strong><em><u>heed<\/u><\/em><\/strong> the need for social justice, act proactively, and do whatever is possible to render real assistance, including helping people to see and take up personal responsibilities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Copyright \u00a9 Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh, August 2024. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To comment, email\u00a0<u><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"mailto:jeffangiegoh@gmail.com\">jeffangiegoh@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2\u00a0Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Bethzatha, which has five porticoes.\u00a03\u00a0In these lay many ill, blind, lame, and paralyzed people, waiting for the moving of the water, 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and troubled the water; whoever <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7423\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh","author_link":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?author=1"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"category\">From Our Perspective<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"2\u00a0Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Bethzatha, which has five porticoes.\u00a03\u00a0In these lay many ill, blind, lame, and paralyzed people, waiting for the moving of the water, 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and troubled the water; whoever&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7423"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7423"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7464,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7423\/revisions\/7464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}