John 5: 2- 18

Read: 

John 5: 2- 18

2Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. 3In these lay many invalids-blind, lame, and paralyzed. 4 5One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6When 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?' 7The 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.' 8Jesus said to him, 'Stand up, take your mat and walk.' 9At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. Now that day was a sabbath. 10So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, 'It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.' 11But he answered them, 'The man who made me well said to me, "Take up your mat and walk."' 12They asked him, 'Who is the man who said to you, "Take it up and walk"?' 13Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there. 14Later 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.' 15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16Therefore 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.' 18For 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.

Think:

At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. Now that day was a sabbath. 10So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, 'It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.' 

Miracles don't fit into our ready made structure.  Miracles by their very nature unbalance the scales, turn our systems upon their heads and do what we don't expect. When Jesus heals the man and tells him to take up his mat and walk he isn't only changing the life of the ill-man but also the entire culture.  As soon as the status quo changes it causes problems and there are those of us who question if what was done was done right and done at the right time or for the right reasons.  More often than not we, the majority, are the ones asking was this the right thing to do rather than performing the "miraculous"

This questioning of if it is lawful to carry one's mat on the sabbath reminds me of the questions of equal rights- is it right to allow black people the right to vote, is it right to allow women to own property, is it right for gays to serve in the military, for lesbians to adopt children... none of these things were / are the status quo when a few people, as Margaret Mead was quick to quip "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

In the case of Jesus he was working miracles healing the blind, the lame and the deaf.  In our time the miracles that change society are instigated by a few dedicated, people who see that the law isn't always right, and that it has to change as times change.  Our relationship with Jesus changes day by day and so to does our relationship to the law change, this is reflected in our relationship with everyone else we come in contact with.  It is how we know we are human, we are able to adapt and change.  We need to be the ones who defend those who take up their mats.  We need to be those who take up their mat.  We need not to be the stickler for the law. 

Pray:

Give me the eyes to see those who are dedicated and who perservere for Justice, Mercy and Humility. Give me words to defend their cause.  Give me strength to stand with them.  Give me love to show them God.  Amen

Contemplate:

I spent the afternoon relaxing and mediating on the word of God which was shared this morning and I am encouraged to continue this time of mindfulness for the rest of the day, I hope.