Gospel text: John 5:1-9
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long
time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?
Take a moment to imagine the turmoil
of this man at the pool of Beth-zatha. Everyday this man crawls toward the pool
that has the power to heal him, only to be blocked, day after day, week after
week, year after year. For 38 years this man crawled toward the pool, only to
be pushed aside before he could touch the water that promised new life, living
in torment. Every day, he hoped and believed that something would happen, that
he would make it. That he would be healed.
Then Jesus
enters the scene and asks, “Do you want to be made well?” The man vents to
Jesus. Of course he wants to be made well. His whole life has been consumed by
this one task. Each day he works his way toward new life, and each day he is
thwarted. There appears to be no release, no end to this suffering. But Jesus
sets him free. Jesus allows him to move on. No longer condemned to this endless
loop of crawling toward this pool, of being pushed aside and having to start
all over again, this man is free to start a new life. He can walk away from
where he had been and begin life again. His life was transformed by the power
of Christ.
Many of us fall
into the trap of thinking that this man’s burden, this man’s struggle was being
unable to walk. He couldn’t do it before Jesus came on the scene and he could
after Jesus talked with him. I think it is a very able bodied way of thinking,
one that assumes that there is a correct type of body and an incorrect one. And
I’m not convinced that there is a right or wrong type of body, but there are
certainly societal expectations and condemnations attached to each type. This
man appears to be condemned by his society for inhabiting his body. He either
doesn’t have any family or friends, or he isn’t connected to them. Because he
doesn’t have anyone to help him, he has been living this life, crawling toward
a pool that he believes contains everything he needs, only to be pushed aside
by those who are connected, those who have resources, those who have people who
accept them. If he can reach it, he gains resources, not least of which is the
ability to walk and gain better means of supporting himself. Without the use of
his legs, he will continue to be pushed aside, with the use of his legs, he has
a means to support and take care of himself. He has a better place in this
world.
His world is
much like our own. We think of some bodies as inherently better than others. We
give them deference and honor. White able bodied cis men are given the
most deference and honor. They have the “right” body, the archetypical body
that all others are compared to. But is there a right body, or are there just
more societally acceptable bodies? Does Jesus heal his legs to give him the
right body, or does Jesus heal his legs to help him leave a place of torment
and find new and better ways of interacting with the world? I believe this is
the way that Jesus truly sets him free.
Jesus finds
this man, in a sea of people trying to reach this pool, a large crowd that has
the ability to constantly push this man back to his starting point, Jesus sees
him. Jesus calls out to him. Jesus sets him free. His societal condemnation,
his disconnectedness, his isolation was recognized, and Jesus brings him a new
hope and a new sense of connection. Feelings of condemnation are turned into
joy and suddenly there is someone who actually sees and cares about him. He has
been given a new life.
Friends,
every day our society puts people into situations similar to this man. Those
who hit hard times, but have connections tend to do okay. Those without
resources feel condemned to live lives of relative isolation and condemnation.
A person moves to a city trying to build better life and instead finds
themselves alone and homeless. Another finds that illness has stripped them of
their connections as healthcare both depletes them of time and money. Someone
comes out to their family and friends, only to find themselves losing them all.
And we are
called to notice. We are called to care. But in doing so, we need to ask
ourselves what our definition of wellness is. What does it mean to be made
whole? What does resurrection look like in the face of crucifixion? These are
the questions that keep me engaged with the Gospel. This is the challenge of
the Christian life.
Within the challenge, we aren’t called to get it all right. I
don’t know what wellness or wholeness looks like in every situation. I’m not
always sure what resurrection means. But I know when I have felt resurrection
power. I have felt resurrection power learning more about my beautifully
diverse trans community, fighting alongside others for things that many take
for granted, like being able to go to the bathroom when you need to, and being
able to find a job. It’s in community gatherings and Facebook communities where
people can ask questions and support each other throughout their journeys,
coming together to help people pay for surgeries, answering questions about
shots and pills, and it’s also in accepting that some people need gender
affirming medical help and others don’t. We come together as community and we
share with each other and we allow ourselves to grow, asking each other, “How
can I help you feel well and whole? What does wellness look like for you?”
I find
resurrection power in being able to help people grow into allies, supporting
each other and learning from one another. One of my favorite people who is
still learning how to be an ally is my friend Jerry. Jerry is a navy veteran,
and went to get his Master of Theology degree after retirement. For the first
two years of my Master’s program, Jerry was a consistent presence in my life.
After hearing that I was transgender, he told me that he supported me and was
always curious about how things were going in my life. I had come out as
transgender my last semester of undergrad and went directly to seminary, so it
was an interesting journey for all of us. He was curious about my experiences
as I began taking testosterone after my first semester and he paid more
attention to news about people in the Trans community. Our usual conversations went something like
this: Jerry would come up to me while I was studying or after chapel and would
say, “I have been thinking about you recently” and then ask a question that was
either off the wall or slightly inappropriate. One time he very seriously told
me about a story he had heard about a man who had become a woman in his 70’s.
(His words, not mine), and asked, “Why would he do that? Couldn’t he just be
him?” And I had to tell Jerry, “Maybe for the first time, she was just being
herself.” And I thought of the torment, the anxiety, the fear, that comes with
trying to live day after day, month after month, year after year, as someone
you aren’t comfortable being. Of hearing the wrong pronouns, of dreaming of
wearing certain clothing, but feeling too afraid. And this woman broke free
from the fear and embraced herself after over 70 years. I can see Jesus walking
up to her as she inched toward that pool of wholeness every day only to be
pushed back by others or herself, and finally she hears the question, “Do you
want to be made well?” And she is
granted permission to be herself, to strip off the mask of manhood and embrace
the person inside. She found herself transformed into her truest self.
Friends, Christ has the power to transform us
all. We can all become whole people, living examples of resurrection power.
Christ transformed my life by allowing me to come out as a transgender person,
finding wholeness through this life changing journey. Christ transformed Jerry
through his curiosity and willingness to learn about different ways of being
human in this world. Christ transformed
the man at the well’s life by allowing him to step away from his daily
struggle, from the all-consuming journey toward a pool he could not get to,
releasing him from his burden. How is
Christ transforming you? What resurrection stories do you have to tell to the
world? How is Christ using resurrection power through this community, bringing
transformation to the world?
Let us pray: Christ, you have called
us to not only be a community that follows you, but to be people who take your
body into our body, to become wholly yours, people who are made well and
transformed by your resurrection power. Lord, help us to see where resurrection
needs to happen in our lives and in the world. Call us into the places of crucifixion. And give us your strength to
step through those burdens and struggles, those fears and real persecutions that
hold us back from wholeness into new life. Amen.
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