After this there was a Jewish festival,
and Jesus went up
to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem next
to the Sheep Pool there is a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew, which has five
porticos; and under these were crowds of sick people, blind,
lame, paralyzed.
One man there
had an illness which had lasted thirty-eight years, and when Jesus saw him lying there
and knew he had been in that condition for
a long time, he said, 'Do you want to be well again?'
'Sir,' replied the sick man, 'I have no one to put me into
the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone
else gets down there before me.'
Jesus said, 'Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk
around.'
The man was
cured at once, and he picked up his mat and started to walk around. Now that
day happened to be the Sabbath, so the Jews said
to the man who
had been cured, 'It is the Sabbath; you are not allowed to carry your
sleeping-mat.'
He replied, 'But the man who
cured me told me, "Pick up your sleeping-mat and walk around." '
They asked, 'Who is the man who
said to you, "Pick up your sleeping-mat and walk around"? '
After a while Jesus met him in the Temple and
said, 'Now you are well again, do not sin any more,
or something worse may happen to you.'
***
"Pick up your sleeping mat and walk."
Where are you right now? At the library? Internet Shop?
Boarding house? Your house? Canteen? Office? On your bed? Restaurant with free
wifi?
Today's gospel reminds us that no matter where we are right
now, God wants us to pick or fix up our own sleeping mat and walk. And when I
say "sleeping mat," I am referring to our own worries, problems and
all. And when I say "walk," I am referring to the act of spreading,
shouting and proclaiming His greatness, His victories, His mighty, His love for
us unto the world.
Just as Jesus Christ healed the old man who is paralyzed for
38 years, He has also healed and saved us from our sins and problems which
paralyzed and prevented us not to be grateful for how many years also. God
wants us now to be braver as much as we can.
Be brave. Be healed. Pick up your own "sleeping mat." Stand
firm with faith. Walk. Proclaim His love. :)
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