As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church
Christ is Risen!
How long are you willing to wait for your computer to open and be ready to use? How long are you willing to sit in a doctor's office waiting for your scheduled appointment to take place? How long are you willing to wait in line in a grocery store to check out? How long are you willing to wait on hold on your telephone for the next available customer service representative to help you? How long are you willing to wait to be seated in a restaurant? How long are you willing to wait for God to answer your prayers?
We want results and we want them fast. We want everything done immediately, sooner if possible. No waiting. Our patience wears thin pretty quickly. Today's gospel lesson is clearly about Jesus healing an invalid, but it is also about waiting patiently. It's about never giving up. It's not about instant gratification. It's not about getting my way immediately or I'm out of here. It's about something our modern society does not value. Waiting. That doesn't mean waiting has been eradicated from our society. Far from it, as noted above. What we want and what we get does not always coincide. And that's God's plan and we don't like it! What's that old adage? "Man proposes and God disposes." A lesson we can learn frequently if we are paying attention.
Great athletes are not created overnight, they have to spend many long years in preparation. And then only a few make it to the top. Star musicians must do the same. Of course there are child prodigies. People touched by God at an early age. But for most of us, in whatever given endeavor, we most likely have to work and prepare before reaching our goal. It takes patience and perseverance. Are we at peace with that?
The paralytic at the pool of Bethsaida waited 38 years before his prayer was answered. The woman with the issue of blood waited 12 years before her prayer was answered. But waiting and patience have nothing to do with idleness. Notice our paralytic. He is constantly trying to get to the pool, but is unable to get any help and so others always get there first. Does he give up? No! Each time the water in the pool is stirred he attempts to make his move. But the crowds of ill people - the blind, the lame, the withered - lying in the five porches surrounding the pool are also stirred up and one can only imagine the jostling and shoving that takes place while they strain to get to the pool in time.
Jesus quietly enters this scene and heals a man who has no idea who Jesus is. Healing can come to anyone. God's desire is for us to be healed. Jesus asks the man do you want to be healed? His 38 years of trying and never giving up is his answer. So, Jesus tells him to take up his mat and walk, and he does. And what might we take away from this lesson? Tempering our impatience may be the first step in our healing.
Christ is risen!
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