38 years of waiting

SCRIPTURES: John 5: 1-8.

Thirty-eight years of waiting for help. What must he have felt like? To prepare to consider that question, I am going to ask you to join me in just one minute of silence and during that time imagine how you would feel if rather than for one minute, you had to wait an hour for the results of a medical test? (One quiet minute elapses.)

It wasn't very comfortable was it? How could he have done it? Well the truth of the matter is, he had no choice. Years earlier, he had given up any hope that things would change and so now in silent desperation, because he had no other options, he sat by the pool and prayed for a miracle. But how sincere do you think his prayer was after 38 years of waiting? How genuine do you think his sense of hope was? Was his faith hanging by a thread or had that thread snapped long ago?

These are all good questions for us to consider but before getting to them, let's consider a couple of other questions. For instance, why did it take 38 years before someone, as Jesus did, got involved in responding to the need of this man? Think about 38 years filled with despair and also with people who looked the other way and ignored his need. We are shocked and disappointed when we read the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and see how the Priest and the Levite ignore the victim in that story for one day. This wasn't one day, it was 38 years.

How could people be so cruel, but wait a minute: Was this guy the only one waiting for a miracle? No, this pool was the last hope for many victims of human tragedy and the sad fact seems to be that this man waited 38 years because he did not have a network of supporters to help him. Why was there no family or friends to help him in his not hour but years of need? We don't know the answer to that question but clearly the absence of such support must have made his despair even greater.

And as we acknowledge this one man's despair, we must acknowledge also that he and we live in a world that is filled with times of great personal and collective concerns. Think about that reality as it relates to our ownWorship Service today. Yes, once again we have had no problem in creating a list of prayer concerns for today's service. And I dare say that there is not a person here this morning that couldn't add a prayer concern to our list. And then on top of all of these other concerns, we see our two special congregational concerns of our upcoming Summer Mission Trip, and the need for a liver transplant for a father in Neva Boyd's church, and it can all just seem to be overwhelming.

What can we do in the face of all this human suffering? Guess what? That was the same question that likely was on the mind of Jesus as he comes to the pool of Bethesda. And in his response we see the good news of this morning's gospel lesson. For you see what Jesus did is he got involved in responding to the need of someone who others had ignored or avoided for 38 years.

Friends, the response of our Lord in this particular incident stands at the heart of every good effort we are involved with as individuals and as members of Christ Church. But wait a minute, before we pat one another on the back and move to the closing hymn, let's take a closer look at the reality that is clearly presented in today's Gospel lesson. For at the end of the day, one horrible and tragic situation had been resolved but countless other needs of other, perhaps less and yet still significant, tragic figures remained waiting for their miracle.

Now, who is to say how many others in similar situations Jesus may have ministered to on that day or the day that followed. We can only speculate about that question but it does seem abundantly clear that despite the compassion of our Lord, at the end of his ministry, there were still countless people who sat by the pool of Bethesda or in other locations waiting for their miracle. So it continues for you and me as we gather for Worship this day and are asked to respond to three requests for our compassionate response.

First, and this sometimes is not in my opinion emphasized enough, there is the request for your continued generous support for the ongoing ministry of our Church. Summer is almost here and it is always a time when vacations and the ending of our Sunday School program lead to lower attendance and reduced financial support for our Church's ministry. I know that I am preaching to the choir here because you folks are here today as an expression of your continued generous response, but let me say it anyway, we need to continue to provide the time, talents and treasures that make our Church's ministry possible 365 days a year.

And as if that is not enough, let me briefly mention the needs of Steve Martin, a father in need of a liver transplant who's a member of Neva Boyd's church and our upcoming mission trip to the Ridgewood Reformed Church. Can we respond to all of these needs? Should we even bother responding if we know that at the end of the day all of our generous efforts are going to be unable to create a perfect world that is free of human need?

As we ponder those questions, let our reflections be illuminated by the example of Christ who embodies the sacred truth contained in this famous quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: "In this world of darkness and tragedy, we have two choices. We can curse the darkness or we can light a candle."

Friends, for more than 43 years our congregation has continued the ministry of lighting candles of hope in the spirit of today's gospel lesson. Our individual and collective compassion has blessed countless lives. This is who we have always been and who we continue to be. People who live in the light and love of Christ out Savior and Lord and who know and practice the virtue of lighting candles of hope through the gift of compassionate service.

Pastor Stephen Giordano — June, 2006