Take your mat... and walk.

When life gives you lemons….. am I right? When I read this Gospel I think of those times in my life when it has always seemed that the “deck was stacked against me” so to speak. Those times when no matter what you do there is nothing that seems to break your way. This can happen in the course of a game, a day, week, or even an entire season of a person’s life. To say that these times are frustrating does not quite give it the gravitas that it deserves. You just keep plugging away trying to do your best and nothing… and I mean NOTHING seems to work out. The house always wins, and you are definitely not the house.              

This sick man in Bethesda was definitely there. He had been sick and trying to get into the healing waters for 38 years! I picture him as waiting in line day after day just watching as he never gets his chance to get into the healing waters, someone always cutting in line or even looking past him. Sometimes we get like this in life where we know we are doing everything the way we think we are supposed to, but we just cannot “catch a break.” ENTER OPPORTUNITY! In this case Jesus who comes when maybe he wasn’t “supposed to” during the Sabbath. A time when healing wasn’t supposed to be going on, but sometimes you have to change what you are doing, or where you are looking for answers to see success. Jesus asks him if he wants to be well, and I interpret it in my mind, that if he does then he needs to get up and DO IT NOW! With full faith that Jesus could heal him he does just this. He has the faith to know that what he is about to do is not allowed by others that may judge him, but in his faith he knew Jesus told him to take his mat and walk… so that is what he did. Sometimes when life gets you down that’s all we need to do. Just believe in the Lord, do as He commands no matter how we may be ridiculed, and look outside what we or society tells us to do to get out of a “rut”. Sometimes we just need to take our mat… and walk.

Author: Matt Upton, Mathematics Department