Thirty-eight years is a long time to sit on your mat. Every day is the same. Waiting. Watching. Hoping. Not much changes. Sitting on his mat has become a way of life for the man in today’s gospel. His life is stagnant. He’s unable to see that the deep well of life is within him. He’s convinced that life will bubble up outside of him, over there, in that magic pool of water. So he sits on his mat waiting, watching, and hoping that things will change.
There was a belief that this pool of water called Beth-zatha had healing properties and that it could change one’s life. It was said that every now and then an angel would stir the water, the water would begin to bubble, and the first one in the water would be healed. The man in today’s gospel won’t get up off his mat until he sees the first bubble. He is living an “as soon as” life.
“As soon as the water bubbles then I will get up off my mat. As soon as I get to the water my life will be better. As soon as I get into the water my problems will be fixed.”
The pool of Beth-zatha is an illusion. It convinces us that our life is nothing more than our circumstances. It deceives us into believing that life is to be found outside ourselves. It tricks us into living an “as soon as” life. Most of us know what that is like. We say to ourselves or maybe even out loud to another, “As soon as this or that happens everything will be better. I’ll be happy. My problems will go away. I’ll be satisfied. All will be well.”
The pool of Beth-zatha has a strong attraction for us. Children often say, “As soon as I get big, grow up, am an adult ….” It continues throughout our life. “As soon as ….”
- I graduate, get a job, get a better job;
- I get married or get out of this relationship;
- I have more time, more money, a better house;
- He changes the way he acts;
- She apologizes;
- I feel better or get through this time in my life;
- They do what I want;
- I get a vacation, retire, move to the mountains;
- I get over this grief and no longer feel sad;
- I lose ten pounds, get in shape.
“As soon as ….” You can fill in the blank with most anything. The problem is there will always be another pool of Beth-zatha. Meanwhile life has been put on hold. The pause button has been pushed. We sit on our mat, self-imprisoned by the circumstances of our life.
The imprisonment is so great that when Jesus asks the man, “Do you want to be made well?” the man doesn’t even say, “Yes.” Instead he offers circumstances and excuses. “I have no one to put me in the water. When the water bubbles others get there first. They take cuts.”
I’m not suggesting that the circumstances of our lives are irrelevant or have no effect. That’s just not true. They do affect us. We are, however, more than the circumstances of our life. Life is not to be found outside our various situations or circumstances but within them. To believe something other than this is to live constantly looking for the next pool of Beth-zatha.
Jesus does not help the man get into the water. He comes to him on his mat, the same mat and situation the man so wants to escape, and speaks words of life and resurrection. “Get up off your mat!” To quote Jesus a bit more accurately, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” The man does not leave his mat behind. It goes with him. His circumstances are real. The difference is he now carries them. They no longer carry him.
Jesus doesn’t change our outer circumstances. He changes us. He calls us into a new way of being, seeing, acting, speaking, thinking. When we stand and rise to that new life we discover the circumstances have somehow changed. That doesn’t necessarily make life easy or mean we no longer have to deal with the circumstances of life. It makes our circumstances more manageable and we engage them from a different place and position. The pool of Beth-zatha is drained of its power over us. There is freedom where there was once imprisonment. Inertia gives way to creativity. Once stagnant waters now bubble with new life.
The life Jesus offers does not happen “as soon as ….” It happens in this place, at this time, in these circumstances. Are you sitting on your mat? Are you looking for a pool of Bethzatha? “Stand up, take your mat and walk.”
+
This sermon is for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year C, and is based on John 5:1-9.
Interrupting the Silence 
Life happens as soon as you realise that it’s up to you to make of it the best you can, as soon as we realise that we are the agents of change, not other people and things. I think that’s what Jesus did more with this miracle, he gave the bloke on the mat the power to see that he can change and all he has to do is, well, get on and do it.
LikeLike
I wasn’t in your congregation last Sunday, but I could feel you looking me straight in the eye , seeing right where I am, and telling me to quit waiting for the pool to bubble … take up your mat and walk! Thanks, Fr. Mike.
ellen
LikeLike
Ellen, we all have our favorite mats, don’t we?
Peace,
Mike+
LikeLike
I agree, Jesus is always calling and inviting us into greater life. Sometimes we accept, other times we decline.
LikeLike
…such a profound point you make. This reads like a chapter in a good book!
LikeLike
Wonderful post. Thank you.
LikeLike
Thank you. I appreciate you following and reading my blog.
LikeLike
thanks Mike, great post really hit home.
LikeLike
I’m glad. Thank you. Seems like we are always getting back up.
LikeLike
Thank you for this, I was sharing with a priest my anguish after a failed relationship, and the priest made a reference to this passage. Upon reading this, now I understand better 🙂
LikeLike
I am glad the sermon was helpful. Thank you for your comment. May God grant you the strength to stand and walk, and fill you with hope and peace.
Mike+
LikeLike
This is the best commentary/sermon I have read on this passage of Scripture. I have heard and read many interpretations but this one is exceptional in its analysis and deconstruction of what Jesus intended to convey to His audience. Thank you and God bless!
LikeLike
Thank you very much. I am glad the sermon was meaningful to you. I appreciate you reading my blog and writing a comment.
Gd’s peace be with you,
Mike+
LikeLike
I ve never heaed such a good interpretation .I will be wisee now .Thank you
LikeLike
Thanks for that message….what a revelation. God bless
Meggie
LikeLike
Thank you Meggie. God’s peace be with you.
LikeLike
God’s peace be with you Meggie.
Mike+
LikeLike
What a surprise to find this! I am preparing my lesson for children’s ministry tommorow on this passage and came across what you shared. I needed to hear this today! Thank you.
LikeLike
Jennifer, I am glad you found the sermon. I hope it was helpful and that your lesson went well.
May God’s blessing be upon you, your ministry, and the children you teach.
Mike+
LikeLike
Thank you Jesus for giving me a new insight of your Living Word.
“As soon as ….” (Procrastination by believing circumstances are true. Jesus doesn’t change our outer circumstances. He changes us.)
Expecting a miracle outside (…constantly looking for the next pool of Beth-zatha. Life is not to be found outside our various situations or circumstances but within them.)
May God Bless you with more insights, to open spiritual eyes of perishing souls.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dr. Meduri, thank you for reading my blog and for your gracious blessing.
God’s peace be with you.
Mike+
LikeLike
I stumbled on this preparing for Sunday. I’m flat out stealing it. What do I owe you? Check’s in the mail. Great job on this text. Thank you.
LikeLike
Thank you for this!
Blessed by this new insight….”as soon as…”
LikeLike
What an insightful message on this passage. Thank you for your insight! I went back and read the passage after reading and it came alive. Plan on sharing during my weekly message at an assisted living facility.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much Carol. i’m so glad the sermon was meaningful and I appreciate you sharing it with others.
God‘s peace be with you,
Mike+
LikeLike
Thanks for grateful insightful message,peace be with you
LikeLiked by 1 person