Sunday 25th May, 6th Sunday of Easter, 5th after Easter

“Do you want to be healed?” This seems like a bizarre question for Jesus to ask in our main service Gospel reading. Jesus knows, and so do we, that the person he is speaking to has been paralysed for thirty-eight years – perhaps his entire life. He lives in a time without social security, and is totally dependent upon his family (if he has any) and the kindness of strangers. More than that, he is constantly frustrated because others are able to be healed ahead of him. He is constantly at the bottom of the pile, at the back of the queue. So what kind of stupid question is this? And yet…as human beings we adapt to our circumstances, good and bad. We learn to live within our limitations. They become part of our sense of self, of our very identity. Being paralysed and dependent upon others is all this man has known for thirty-eight years. What would it mean not to be disabled? Who would he be? How would he live? Jesus’ question is a challenge as well as an offer: to be healed would bring radical change. Is he up for it? As it happens, he is, and what was impossible for a lifetime becomes a reality today. I’m reminded of the classic joke: “How many therapists does it take to change a lightbulb? One, but the lightbulb really has to want to change.” Do I?

Every blessing,

Roger.