Christine McParland Rossi
St. Thomas More Writing Group
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool. . . . In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there . . . he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” (John 5:2–6)
In this Gospel passage, Jesus meets a man lying by a pool believed to have healing powers. While we don’t know the exact nature of his ailment, it’s likely this man has been ill for most of his life, given the average lifespan at that time. Jesus’s question to him is interesting: “Do you want to be well?” Isn’t the answer obvious?
The man responds, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me” (John 5:7). He doesn’t answer Jesus with an eager “Yes!”, anticipating the fulfillment of that desire. He only shares a brief summary of his story: he is alone; he is helpless; on top of that, he has been left behind while others presumably receive the healing he seeks.
We don’t have the benefit of hearing the man’s tone of voice or seeing his facial expression, but we can surmise that he’s discouraged. Perhaps he’s given up hope, and his only consolation is to indulge in self-pity. Or maybe he’s stuck in a fixed mindset, unable to imagine another possibility of healing.
How many of us would keep our hope intact in this man’s circumstances? Whether it’s from an illness, a broken relationship, or another form of suffering, most of us long for healing. We strive for it and even pray for it. Yet when months turn into years and years turn into decades and nothing changes, it’s easy to lose hope.
Sometimes, giving up hope is less painful than continuing to be disappointed.
The man by the pool doesn’t express faith in Jesus to heal him. Maybe he genuinely lacks faith, or maybe he isn’t aware of Jesus’s reputation as a miracle-worker. Yet regardless of his faith or lack thereof, his response to Jesus’s question illustrates an often-overlooked truth: the best way to approach God is with total honesty.
Instead of rebuking the man for not having greater faith, Jesus tells him to get up and walk (John 5:8). The man obeys. Whether or not he had faith prior to meeting Jesus, he has enough faith now to do the impossible. In the process, he steps into a miracle.
Unlike others in the Gospels who are cured and commended for their faith, this man’s discouraged outlook doesn’t hinder Jesus from healing him. His story shows that perfect faith isn’t a prerequisite for a miracle. Healing cannot be earned—it’s a gift.
Whenever we’re tempted to lose hope, the story of the man by the pool can give us courage. In our hopeless places, we can find ourselves face-to-face with Jesus, and our honesty with him gives him room to work miracles.
We may receive the healing we desire, or we may receive the one we didn’t know we needed. Perhaps we’ll receive the seed of a healing that will mature into a beautiful fruit with time. Whatever God gives us, we don’t need to worry about meriting the miracle; we only need to receive the gift and act on it.
When we do this, one thing is certain: we will walk away a new person.