Tuesday 29 March 2022

Today is Tuesday the 29th of March in the fourth week of Lent.
Salt of the Sound sings, ‘Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus’.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of the earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
In the light of His glory and grace
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of the earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
In the light of His glory and grace
And the things of the earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
In the light of His glory and grace


Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John.
John 5:1-3, 5-16
After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralysed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’ The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’ At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.
Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, ‘It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.’ But he answered them, ‘The man who made me well said to me, “Take up your mat and walk.”’ They asked him, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Take it up and walk”?’ Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, ‘See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.’ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he was doing such things on the sabbath.

Today we will do an imaginative contemplation exercise by immersing ourselves into the passage…
Take a moment to place yourself into this scene… what does the water look like? Maybe a little murky…or perhaps fresh and clear…
What about the five covered porches? What material are these made out of?
What can you smell? The water? Food cooking nearby?
And the sounds… we hear there are crowds of sick people there… blind, lame, paralysed… what sounds can you hear? Anguish? Distress? Pain?
Imagine Jesus appearing into this picture… what does he look like? He might stand out a little bit…or perhaps he’s quietly walking around…
…and then he sees this man…how do you imagine this moment?
Hear Jesus ask the man, “Do you want to be made well?” This seems such a strange question for Jesus to ask, particularly when we hear that Jesus “knew he had been ill for a long time”…why do you think he asked the man this? What does this moment signify to you?
Listen as the man explains why he can’t be made well… How does he sound? What expressions and gestures does he make as he tells Jesus of his situation? Can you resonate with his reasoning in any way?
Now, become a witness to the moment Jesus makes the man well immediately… Hear him say, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’ How do you notice yourself reacting? With shock? Joy? Disbelief? Confusion perhaps…
Spend a moment now observing Jesus’ encounter with the man later in the temple: “See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” What do you make of this interaction? Of these words… A stern warning? Or perhaps a kind moment showing Jesus’ care for this man…

Talk to the Lord now about anything this time of prayer has brought up for you, knowing that God holds it all in the palm of his loving hand…


You have given all to me
To you, Lord I return it
Everything is yours
Do with it what you will
Give me only your love and your grace
That is enough for me.