Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church

We have been talking for the last few weeks about learning to live in healthy relationships.  We have talked about dealing with the  baggage from our past. We have talked about learning to recognize the dynamics of a bad relationship before they become too damaging. We have even talked about when the church has caused pain and suffering rather than being a source of hope and healing. It has been a fruitful conversation. But, there comes a time when the conversation must end and we must act. Jesus told the man at the pool of Bethesda to “stand up.” In th same way, there comes a time when we must get up, get moving, and live the life for which we were intended, remembering always that God is with us.

John 5:1-9

1.    For better or worse, growing up there was one thing that was absolutely forbidden in my house.
A.    Whining. Whether it be after a baseball game, or a math test, whatever, whining was not allowed.
B.    Let’s be clear. Emotions were fine. They were encouraged. Being upset after a loss on the baseball field was expected.
C.    But, woe to the Waterson that sought to turn their pain into an opportunity to have a pity party.
D.    If you tried, you were in for a lecture (i.e. sermon) from a professional.
E.    One time, I dared to blame a loss at a little league game on a bad call by the umpire.
F.    Sat down for 20 minutes and listened to why umpires do not win or lose baseball games.

2.    Some have said that the man that Jesus encountered at the pool of Bethesda sounded like a bit if a whiner.
A.    Jesus asks him if he wants to be healed, which might sound to you and me like a stupid question. But, here the man’s response.
B.    “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.”
C.    Pool of Bethesda – double pool just north of the temple mount in Jerusalem. Four outer porticoes, with another main portico, steps leading down to the pool.
D.    Common thinking in Jesus’ day – when the waters were stirred by an intermittent spring, the person that touches the water will be healed.
E.    So, this man, sat there, day after day, for 38 years, hoping to experience the healing power of the waters.
F.    In 38 years, could no one help him down to the pool?  For 38 years, he watched as others experienced blessed healing.
G.    Is it any wonder he seems a little skeptical when Jesus asks him if he wants to be healed?

3.    But, Jesus had a different idea. It is significant to note that he was in Jerusalem during a religious festival. We don’t know which one. But, it we do know it was a religious festival.
A.    Where would you go looking for the messiah during a religious festival? Where would you seek him out?
B.    I suspect, most of us would say the temple. And yet, that is not where Jesus was. He was at the pool of Bethesda. Why?
C.    That is where he could find people in need of healing. Those that were forgotten, discarded, neglected – like the man paralyzed for 38 years.
D.    Jesus went to the pool because he came to heal – and that is the place where people who were suffering would be gathered.
E.    That is where people that were hoping for a miracle would go.

4.    In his book Illusions, published in 1977, Richard Bach accounts the exploits of a disillusioned barnstorming pilot who encounters a mysterious stranger on his journeys.
A.    The stranger provides the pilot with a book that offers advice for life’s journey.
B.    At one point, he opens the book and it reads, “argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.”
C.    Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.
D.    The man at the pool of Bethesda – not arguing for his limitations as much as explaining to Jesus his predicament.
E.    His explanation was an indictment for all of the people that have ignored the man’s suffering for 38 years.

5.    In our society, we have made an art form of explaining our predicaments in life.
A.    We find a million reasons to remain stuck in a bad circumstance.
B.    From politicians – manipulate the truth until it really loses all meaning.
C.    Athletes – I thought that was vitamin B. I didn’t know it was steroids.
D.    Our explanations have begun to sound a lot more like excuses.
E.    Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.
F.    But, to all of them, Jesus commands – stand up; walk. “Get up,” he is telling us. You were not born for this.

6.    Almost three weeks, I spent one of the most unsettling moments of my life in the telemetry unit of Hoag Hospital.
A.    Day started out relatively normal – aside from the chest pains on my left side.
B.    Did not go away and by about 2:00 p.m., I called my doctor, who was gone for the day. So, I reluctantly decided to go to the hospital.
C.    Say the words “chest pain” in an emergency room, and see what happens.
D.    Spent the night in the hospital and at one point, during a moment of prayer, I asked God, “why me?”
E.    It was almost as if Jesus was standing at my bedside asking, “do you want to be made well?”
F.    Yes but…high blood pressure…high cholesterol…not enough time to exercise…not enough time to eat right…etc.
G.    Eventually, Jesus responds, “Get up” (maybe it was preceded by “shut up,” I don’t remember).
H.    Get up, leave this place and take a walk – and not to the nearest McDonalds.
I.    Get up.

7.    Today, we are concluding our sermon series, “Breaking the Chains: Learning to Live in Healthy Relationships.”
A.    We have talked about the baggage that we all carry. We have talked about recognizing bad relationships before they become destructive.
B.    And we have even talked about how the church can sometimes be a source of pain and alienation, rather than a source of hope and healing.
C.    Today, we are simply talking about getting up and getting on with life.
D.    Because, like the man at the pool of Bethesda, Jesus is standing near us, and is asking us in a variety of ways, “do you want to be made well?”
E.    When we hear that question, many of us are prepared with a litany of excuses – er, explanations – that take longer than some of my sermons.
F.    Meanwhile, Jesus offers us a simple command, “get up, and get on with your life. Because I am with you.”
G.    Get up, and get on with your life…because I created you to love and to be loved.”
H.    Get up, and get on with your life. Because my grace is sufficient for you.
I.    Get up.

8.    In a moment, I am going to play a video for you of a woman singing a song entitled “I Dreamed A Dream” from the musical “Les Miserables.”
A.    There is a line, “I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I’m living.”
B.    I am sure if you asked the man by the pool of Bethesda, he would have said that he definitely dreamed a different life for himself.
C.    Many of us, as well, find ourselves “stuck” in situations where we are dreaming of something better.
D.    Jesus stands near to us, commanding us to “get up.” I have a better live in mind for you.
E.    Get up, my friends. Get up. Leave your baggage and get up. Jesus awaits us by the healing waters. Get up. Amen.

Sermon delivered at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church Anaheim Hills  – May 17, 2009.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 at 9:21 am and is filed under Sermon.