Eastertide

May 22, 2022

Scripture Reading: John 5:1-9

After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When 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?’ The 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.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’ At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.
Now that day was a sabbath.

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired* When I read ‘Do you want to be made well?’ from the scripture above, the quote from Fannie Lou Hamer’s speech describing events in 1962 when she deigned to register to vote flashed through my mind. There are physical and mental illnesses from which individuals want and need to be healed, but there are societal illnesses that do much harm that must be healed if we are to transition our world from its current situation to Christ’s ideal of the kingdom of God. There are two sides to the situation described in the scripture above. First, we are all often blind to the needs of others around us as we scurry to grab hold of what we feel is ours to win. Some take the time to reach back guiding others to healing while they experience healing themselves. The other side of the story is the need for all of us to seek wholeness understanding our individual shortcomings and our societal shortcomings which will only improve if we invest ourselves in making the changes necessary to bring the world into sync with God’s will. We are indeed partners in God’s service.

Called as partners in Christ’s service
Called to ministries of grace
We respond with deep commitment
Fresh new lines of faith to trace
May we learn the art of sharing
Side by side and friend with friend
Equal partners in our caring
To fulfil God’s chosen end**

Prayer: Lord, guide us in being partners in your service. Amen.

*Taken from a speech made by Fannie Lou Hamer describing her treatment resulting from registering to vote in Indianola, Mississippi August 31, 1962.  See full transcript at https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/2019/08/09/im-sick-and-tired-of-being-sick-and-tired-dec-20-1964/

**First verse of hymn Called as partners in Christ’s service by Jane Parker Huber and John Zundel see at https://digitalsongsandhymns.com/songs/6113

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.