May 25, Easter 6C (John 5:1-9)
Again and again, God comes near and changes everything.
For 38 years the man at the pool of Bethzatha has been weak and ill. Thirty-eight years—just shy of the 40 years the Israelites wandered the wilderness, barely outside the borders of God’s promised land. Within sight but not within reach. Time enough to wonder whether there is still reason to hope. Years enough to question whether the promise is sure. Years enough, too, to learn they are not alone—that God comes near, again and again.
Like the Israelites before him, the man at the pool of Bethzatha remains just outside the borders of promise, longing to attain the healing that stirs within its waters. The pool is within sight but not within reach. He cannot get there alone, and no one seems to notice.
Then one day, long after the man has lost hope, Jesus comes near and asks him a question: “Do you want to be made well?”
