May 18, 2025
John 5:1-9
Introduction
The man in today’s Gospel is stuck. For thirty-eight years he has been sitting on his… mat. That’s a long time. Every day is the same. He sits on his mat. He waits and watches for the water in the pool to be stirred up. And he does this because it was believed that this pool of water, called Bethzatha, had healing properties that could change a person’s life. It was said that every now and then an angel would stir the water, where the water would begin to bubble and spout. And as soon as the water stirred, the belief was the first one to get in the water would be healed.
And so day after day he sits by this pool, waiting, hoping, praying for the chance to be the first into the water, to be healed, freed from his condition, and finally live the life he’s dreamed of living.
We can almost hear his thoughts, can’t we? As soon as… the water bubbles I’ll dive in and I’ll be healed. As soon as… I’m healed, I’ll leave this place and go to my family and friends. As soon as I’m healed I’ll find work and a home. As soon as I’m healed, I’ll find a partner and we’ll build a family. As soon as…
The man at the Bethzatha pool is living an “as soon as” life. He can see all he needs in life, and as soon as he can be the first in the water, as soon as he can finally make this one-piece fall into place, all the other pieces will fall into place. Just as soon as… the waters bubble, he can live again. Just as soon as…
Move 1
We all have times in our lives when we feel stuck, so I am curious where are you stuck in your life today? And I am curious because the man in today’s Gospel story is stuck. He’s literally stuck, day after day, week after week and so on, at the Bethzatha pool. He’s stuck waiting for the waters to bubble. He’s stuck trying to be the first in the pool. And until the waters bubble, and until he’s the first in the water, he remains stuck.
But the man in today’s Gospel story is stuck spiritually as well. Because of his condition, because of his ailment, his disease, his limitations, he is stuck, unable to see that the deep well of life is not next to him, but rather the life giving and renewing waters he longs to dive deep into are already within him. The man is stuck because he’s convinced that life has to first bubble up outside of him, over there, in that magic pool of water, before it can bubble up inside of him.
For thirty-eight years the man in today’s Gospel story has been saying, “As soon as the water bubbles 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. As soon as I get out of the water, when life is better, when my problems are fixed, when everything is finally in order…I can live my life just as I’ve wanted to live—just as it was meant to be lived.”
Does and of this sound familiar? It does to me because I’ve said these same kind of statements myself—and I’d be willing to bet you have as well.
It’s remarkable isn’t it…just how similar our lives are to the lives of those from so long ago? Just like the man in today’s Gospel story, we too get stuck… we are stuck. And just like him, we all have our Bethzatha, our magic pool of water we sit beside, waiting for it to do what we need it to do so that we can finally dive in, get what we need, and then and only then start living the life we want to live.
As soon as…the externals of life line up for me…then I can live. Just as soon as…
Move 2
I don’t know what this man’s illness is but I’ve experienced the exact same kind of stuck-ness in my life and I’ll bet you have too. My guess is every one of us could tell a story about when we were stuck—or maybe how we are stuck. But if we really thought about it, and were honest, we would see his stuck-ness, and our stuck-ness, are about more than a physical illness or condition. We’d realize our stuck-ness is a spiritual condition, a soul sickness of dis-ease.
And I believe this to be true because living an “As soon as…” kind of life is not the kind of life Jesus offers. The life Jesus offers does not happen “as soon as x, y, and z fall into place.” The life Jesus offers happens in the very time, place, and circumstances we are stuck in. The life Jesus offers happens in the here and now, not in the “as soon as…”
Sometimes it feels like our life in general is stuck. Other times it’s more specific—we come to a stuck place concerning a decision or we find a stuck place in particular circumstances such as our marriage, relationships, parenting, work, a sense of calling or a dream for our life, a deep longing or desire, faith and spirituality.
And when I am stuck there’s no movement in my life, I get nowhere. I’m stuck thinking and believing the same old things, listening to the same old voices within me, repeating the same old patterns and behaviors. And all the while I still wonder—frustrated and annoyed— why nothing is changing. Then, out of frustration and annoyance and anger and self-pity, I let my past—what has happened to me, or what I’ve done and left undone—define me. I identify with my wounds, grief, failures, and losses. This stuck pattern then ushers me into believing that the things that have happened to me are who I am.
And then, as if that wasn’t already enough, this stuck-ness—now deeply rooted in fear, anxiety, judgement, and self-loathing—pushes me to perpetually choose to remain with what is familiar, predictable—because it’s safe. And when that stuck-ness settle in, it’s nearly impossible to get off my mat and risk something new.
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When we get stuck in an “as soon as…” way of life, it allows us to blame external forces working against us, and we convince ourselves it’s not our fault for being stuck, and we don’t take responsibility for ourselves or our life. We beleive other people or circumstances are why we are stuck, and as soon as…the change, I’ll be better.
But when we get real—really real— about our “stuck-ness”, and drill down into the reasons why we are stuck, when we take time in our “stuck-ness” to pray, “Lord, why am I so stuck?! Why won’t you help me get unstuck?!” we would hear Jesus saying, “Stand up, take your mat, and walk.”
Move 3
When I am stuck I live an “As soon as…” life. Most of us know what that’s like. We say to ourselves or maybe even out loud to another, “As soon as this or that happens everything will be better. My problems will go away. All will be well.”
When I am stuck the waters of my life are stagnant, nothing is bubbling up for me. My world is no larger than the mat on which I sit, and I live with the illusion that there is some magic pool of water out there, and “As soon as…” I get to it, then…. “everything will be better. My problems will go away. All will be well.”
Does any of this sound familiar? When have you experienced such? In what ways do they describe your life today? What is the “as soon as…” for you today? Chances are it’s pointing to a place in which you are stuck. And once we understand the stuck place our “As soon as…” is pointing us that is when we can begin to discover that the stuck places in our lives are about more than our circumstances and that we are actually using our circumstances as an excuse to stay stuck.
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Now, to be clear, I’m not suggesting that the circumstances of our lives are irrelevant or have no effect. That’s just not true. Our circumstances do affect us. But what if we dealt with ourselves before dealing with the circumstances? When we talk about our stuck places we’re really just describing the symptoms of something that is going on within us.
So we need to ask what’s going on within us when we are stuck. Because what if the stuck places in our lives are pointing showing us something about how we see and relate to ourselves and our lives. What if in the stuck places, instead of saying “As soon as…” we asked ourselves, “Do I want to be made well? Or am I just comfortable in my stuck-ness”
Do you think with these questions we might begin to see our patterns, thoughts, and beliefs aren’t simply circumstances to escape or get away from, but they are exactly what can help us figure out how to get unstuck?
Conclusion
Jesus does not help the man get into the water. Instead, Jesus comes to him on his mat, the same mat and situation the man has for so long wanted to escape, and speaks words of life and resurrection, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.”
If this man is going to stand up, take his mat, and walk—if he is going to finally live the life he was been needing and praying for—the man will first have to let go of Bethzatha, let go of the magic pool of water. He will first have to let go of the “as soon as…” safe space— and begin to re-image himself as larger than his history.
He will have to reimagine himself as more than what has happened to him or what he has done and left undone. He will have to see himself as larger, and more than, the past thirty-eight years. And he will have to do it over and over again, every day. But if he does… oh what a life he will have.
If we want this kind of life, then you and I have to do the exactly the same—we have to let go of the “as soon as…” Amen.
Pastoral Prayer, May 18, 2025
Gracious God, your son found one of your children, laying by a magic pool, urning to dive deep into its waters, so its healing properties would wash over him and set him free to finally live the life he wanted, and you intended.
But instead of helping him into the waters, instead of touching him with a healing hand, Jesus simply said, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.”
It reminds us that sometimes the miracle we need is not really a miracle, but rather a reminder that we are stronger than we let ourselves believe, and that we are able to stand up from where we are stuck, let go of the “as soon as” mindset that has been keeping us on our mat, and walk into a brought and hope filled future.
That is Jesus’ call to each of us, every day—inviting us to say to ourselves, “I am not what has happened to me; I am what I choose to become. I am not my roles; I am my journey. I am not my limiting experience; I am the creative power of my potential.”
So help us Lord to ask ourselves hard questions like, “Where am I stuck today? What will you reveal to me Lord, when I re-image my life and who I am?”
Help us ask these questions and then be open to how you will guide us to discover the responses that are good and faithful, responses that will show us how we can walk into the life we long to live and share with those we love.
Show us that we already are more than we think we are because we are yours, and you have created us in your image and have equipped us to walk in the faithful and life-giving ways of your son.
So say to us again, and empower us to respond faithfully, when Jesus says to us, each day, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.”
Please listen now, we ask, to the prayers that come from our hearts, and our lifted to your heart, in this time of Holy Silence.
All this we pray in the name of our resurrected Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray saying, “Our…”