Lent 2021

 

Lent 2021: The Waters of Bethesda

Waters of BethesdaA Reflection for the Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus travels to Bethesda, a pool with healing waters in Jerusalem. There, Jesus finds an ill man and asks the man if he wants to be healed. The man confirms his desire, and Jesus heals him. When the Jews confront the healed man about the miracle, they chastise him for being cured and carrying his mat, as Jesus told him to do, on the Sabbath. The gospel passage ends with the Jews learning that Jesus performed the miracle and persecuting him for breaking the laws of the Sabbath.

I found several elements striking in this gospel passage. The first is how Jesus arrives at Bethesda. He is not invited or told to go there; instead, he seeks out the place where individuals are in need. Second, the man is not healed because he is particularly deserving or devout. Jesus performed the miracle purely to alleviate the man’s suffering. This is connected to the third and what I believe is the most important element: Jesus’s willingness, at all cost, to pursue humanitarian compassion. This act exemplifies the radical, person-centric message of Jesus, one that values human life over cultural norms and laws.

Each of these elements in the gospel passage challenge us to consider how we reflect Christ in the modern world. Beginning with the first element, the gospel asks us whether we seek out those in need or passively wait for the opportunity to do good. For me, this question has taken on greater significance during the pandemic. Since time outside of my apartment and with others has drastically decreased, my focus has shrunken inward and shifted toward myself. This gospel passage has challenged me to look outward and to rehabilitate into the post-pandemic world through actively seeking opportunities to help those in need.

Moving to the second element, this gospel passage challenges us to review our biases, especially with regard to what we believe others do or do not deserve. This challenge seems particularly relevant in the wake of debates about who should receive limited vaccines. I believe this gospel passage encourages us to look beyond whether we find groups deserving and to instead see all of humankind as deserving of good in their lives.

Finally, the last element of this gospel passage challenges us to value compassion over laws or cultural issues that prevent our compassion from flowing forth. This message is relevant in our current time of political polarization, where policy disagreements can often lead to dehumanizing animosity. While discourse should be encouraged and bad faith actors should be deplatformed, this gospel passage encourages compassionate regard for our fellow humans, even when the cultural waters flow in opposing directions. 

Brantley Butcher '19

Brantley is the Associate Editor at Communication Partners Group LLC.