“Signs and Wonders: Healing the Paralytic” by Rev. Cody Sandahl – July 24, 2016
Introduction
We are still looking at the signs and wonders of Jesus. Our text today takes place at a pool that was created in Jerusalem. I’ve been there – it’s pretty large, and it was probably used as a water supply for the city. But as we’ll hear in the text, it was also associated with healing, so the sickest individuals in Jerusalem would try to be the first person into the water when a ripple formed – supposedly indicating the presence of a healing angel. Now this means that the sickest people in the city are jumping into the drinking water supply before people drink it – that should probably fall under the “bad idea” category, but I digress. There’s a lot going on in this passage, and a lot of it is beneath the surface if you’ll excuse the pool pun. So listen closely to this sign and wonder from John 5.
John 5:2-18 (NRSV)
2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. 3 In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 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?”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 making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.
Now that day was a sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, “It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”11 But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there.14 Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he was doing such things on the sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, and I also am working.” 18 For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.
Drop the Fear, Know the One
“Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?” That was one of the most famous lines from Indiana Jones. And it showed us that this fearless anthropologist who went toe-to-toe with the Nazis had at least one fear – snakes. My dad resonated with that line, since his long-time stance was that the only good snake is a dead one. When I was a kid I was far more worried about the eight-legged critters rather than the slithering ones. What has caused fear in you? What do you fear now?
Sometimes our fears aren’t things but ideas. Over the years I have developed a theory on scary movies. They typically have one of two outcomes. Either #1, it was stupid, and I paid money to watch it. Or #2, I can’t take a shower after watching Psycho and I paid money to watch it. From my perspective it seems like I’m not getting good value for my dollar either way.
Or maybe our fears are even more abstract than that. Some people fear being forgotten when they’re gone. Afraid of being seen as a failure. Afraid of losing a job. Afraid for our country or our world. Afraid of a painful death. Afraid of Alzheimer’s or dementia. What do you fear?
In our text today, a lot of people are afraid. The many sick people gathered at the pool are afraid they’ll never be healed. That’s a valid fear – the guy Jesus seeks out had been there for 38 years. The sick people aren’t just afraid that they’re not going to be healed, they’re also worried that someone else will be. They’ll push others out of the way. Perhaps the paralytic is also afraid of how he’ll live if he is healed – Jesus asks him “do you want to be made well” and his response isn’t “yes.” That’s telling.
The religious leaders seem to be afraid as well. They’re afraid that they’ll lose influence if people ignore their teachings. They’d rather have their imposed rules followed rather than see a man healed. They were so afraid of losing influence, afraid of someone with different ideas, that they were willing to plot Jesus’ death. Fear doesn’t typically bring out the best in us.
I believe the most pernicious kind of fear is being afraid of a category or a label. And that’s getting a lot of airtime right now. Fear of immigrants. Fear of black men. Fear of police. Fear of Muslims. Fear of beggars or the homeless or the mentally ill. Fear doesn’t bring out the best in us.
In our text today, there’s only one person who isn’t afraid, and it’s the person with the most justification for being afraid for his life – and that’s Jesus. He’s motivated by love, not fear. And he does something fascinating.
V3 says that in the pools “lay many invalids – blind, lame, and paralyzed.” People are afraid of them. This gate isn’t far from the Temple – if they touch one of “those people” they’ll be unclean. “Those people” were seen as sinners who deserved their fate. But out of those “many,” v5 says Jesus saw “one man who had been ill for 38 years.” One man. ONE man.
Jesus didn’t see the labels. He saw this one man.
And that’s one of the biggest differences between love and fear. 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.” Fear reduces people to a label. Fear says, “Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?” Love elevates a person to a name and a relationship. Fear says, “There goes one of those people.” Love says, “Hi, Jonathan.”
And so if we want to love as Jesus loved. If we want to do what the youth talked about last week – we love because Christ first loved us. If we want to really love like Jesus did, I believe this text shows two big aspects of that. First is to forget the fear. There is no fear in love. Fear brings out the worst in us. Second is to know the one. Not the many, not the statistics, not the clichés, not the categories, not the labels. Know the one. Not one of “those people,” but Sean or Laura or Mohamed or Montrell or whatever the one person’s name is.
Fear was on display in many ways in the shooting in Munich this Friday. It now appears that the shooter had been bullied and was overcome with fear and hatred. But the eye witnesses also revealed their deepest fears. Because some of the witnesses claimed the shooter was shouting Islamic religious slogans. Other witnesses claimed the shooter was cursing immigrants. In other words, some people said the shooter was an Islamic terrorist. Others said he was a German nationalist. These are mutually incompatible “eye witness accounts,” and I think it shows what those people fear. And now it looks like both of those groups had their fear literally change their memory. Fear doesn’t bring out the best in us.
Love DOES bring out the best in us. In most of Europe, there has been a flood of radicalized young men streaming out to fight in Syria and other places. One town in Denmark, however, has seen that flood diminish to a drop. And they did it with love. A young Muslim man named Jamal – good grades, well liked, Dutch citizen – responded when a girl in his class insulted Islam and called all Muslims violent. Voices raised, he got angry. And because he was a young Muslim man, who got mad – verbally, not physically, but mad because of his faith, the police were called and he was interrogated. People were afraid. It was that fear, and the heavy-handed reaction to it, that actually drove him to seek out others who had been similarly treated. And one day they had gathered to watch some radical teachings on the Internet together, and that’s when Jamal’s phone rang. Strange number. He answered it, and it was a police officer. And here’s how the police officer started that conversation. “Hi Jamal. I heard about what happened to you recently and I wanted to call personally and say ‘I’m sorry.’ I’d love to meet you and see if there’s any way I can help. Would you be willing to meet me sometime next week?” Jamal was so shocked, he said ‘yes.’ And that meeting led to others. Fear drove him toward isolation and extremism. Love brought him back. Seeing Jamal as one of “those people” almost made him into one of “those people.” But knowing Jamal – the one person – brought him back. It reminds me of what Paul wrote in Romans 12: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
From Fear to Love
Fear doesn’t bring out the best in us. Love does. In our text today, fear gripped the paralyzed man, and all he could see is the excuses rather than the hope standing in front of him. Fear gripped the passers-by, and all they could see is a rule-breaker carrying his mat, not a joyous miracle staring them in their faces. Fear gripped the religious leaders, and all they could see is a threat to kill, not the Savior of the World. Fear doesn’t bring out the best in us. Love does.
Love saw this one man. This one man. Love also said the hard things he needed to wrestle with – “do you want to be made well…go and sin no more.” Love said those things. Love healed him. Love restored him to his community. Love brings out the best in us.
So what are you afraid of? I’m not just talking about far-off places and stories. I’m not just talking about politics and terrorism and violence. I’m talking about your life right here in Colorado. What are you afraid of? What are you afraid of? Is it bringing out the best in you?
I’m afraid that I’m going to miss something important as I lead this church. I’m afraid I’m going to miss something important as a husband and a father. And I probably will. I have fears about Charlie. But I can’t be bottled up with that fear. It doesn’t bring out the best in me. Love does.
What are you afraid of? Afraid of the next layoffs? Afraid of the results of the test? Afraid of losing yourself or someone else? Afraid that someone else will get credit?
As a church, what are we afraid of? Afraid that someone is going to sneak in and steal or break something? Afraid that our personal ministry will no longer be relevant? Afraid that this church will slowly die out?
It’s OK to recognize those fears. But it’s not OK to be driven by them. Because fear doesn’t bring out the best in us. Love does.
Summary
Sisters and brothers, we can forget the fear. Or at least we can refuse to let it drive us. Instead let’s be driven by the love of our Savior Jesus Christ. He got to know the one man, the ONE man, not one of “those people.” And surrounded by evil, he wasn’t overcome by evil but overcame evil with good. May we overcome our fears the same way – with love. Amen.