Mtr Mary Trainor

Do you want to be made well?*

Dear friend,

How long i have pondered the question. Do you want to be made well?

In today’s Office Gospel from John, Jesus spots a man lying near a pool of healing water. Still, the man could never make his way through the crowd. Oh, and he had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years.

Jesus is aware of the man’s history, yet still asks: Do you want to be made well?

An answer seems obvious, right? Of course! So why the question?

***

My father had many old sayings that he would roll out at what he considered opportune times.

Here’s one that seems to fit the question of the day—about being made well. The old saying is, “Oh, him, why he just enjoys poor health.” Meaning, I guess, poor health gives some people the attention they can’t seem to generate another way.

There are pathologies that stem from the need for attention, pursuing illness to the point of death. It may actually be true for such folks, that they don’t want to get well.

But it’s still a good question for most of us. Do you want to be made well?

I would answer this question with an immediate “yes.” So, I think it must be a trick question. Until. Until I realize that I haven’t seen a physician, a dentist, or an ophthalmologist since COVID. And I have ongoing medical issues, as many of us do when we get a few years on us.

My mind tells me I want to be made well, but my behavior suggests something else. I am sure I am not alone in this paradox. I’ve known many who seek health advice yet are fully prepared to ignore it when they choose. Take the person ordered to lose weight, quit smoking, exercise more, and so on.

It leads me to wonder, for those--me included--who can be blasé about our physical health, how is our spiritual health doing?

Do I want to be made well? It may be time for a serious look.

Mtr Mary

*John 5:1-18