Devotion - Wednesday, January 9

First of all, let me say "Thank you" for returning to school.  When folks ask me, "How was your Christmas break?" I am a bit stumped.  The weeks when you all are out of town are always confusing for me - I lose track of the day of the week; I fail to maintain the rhythms of prayer, study, and service.  I am so thankful to God for the community which he has created for us and among us.  When that community is disbursed, it is difficult for this part of that community (me) to maintain the equilibrium which is the life to which God has called me.  So, "Thank you," for returning.

This morning I was reading from John 5:1-15.  It is a story which speaks of one part of the body assisting another.  In Jerusalem, by the Sheep Gate, there is a pool.  Lying by the pool are sick and ill persons.  The story in John 5 tells us that when "the water is troubled," the first into the water has reason to expect a healing. 

Lying there is a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years.  When asked by Jesus, the man shares that he has no one to help him into the pool and thus another "steps down before me." 

There is more to the story, but I want to pause here in order to note that the man understands the role of "another."  Even when it comes to miracles, we seldom encounter them alone.  We need "another."

This is the Bible, and this is a story about Jesus, so you know what comes next.  Jesus heals the man.  Jesus heals him - without the benefit of the water in the pool at the Sheep Gate being "troubled."  There is no limit to the number of folks who can be healed.  We are not in competition with one another to obtain the prize.  Jesus gives; without limit or condition.

One more quick thing about the story.  The man does not catch Jesus' name.  We know this because in the next scene he is asked by the religious police "Who told you to 'Take up you pallet and walk?'"  He doesn't know.  Jesus got lost in the crowd and in the excitement. 

If I were to turn this story into an allegory for us, today, you would be the Jesus and I would be the paralyzed man.  I need help, getting to the water.  You are the one who comes alone and helps me - sometimes without a name; generally without sufficient expressions of appreciation on my part.

Who is the Jesus, in your re-living of this story?  Who will be the one to come to you, recognize your need, and assist you in taking up your pallet and setting out on your way? 

We need each other; God has given us one another; let us be intentional about aiding one another.