“Do You Want to be Well?”

Written by Fr. Barry Braum

After this, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. (Jn 5:1-9)

“Do you want to be healed?” This must have seemed like a strange question to the man who had been laying ill for such a long time. Suffering for thirty-eight years from his illness, the man had looked for healing at the pool called “Beth-za’tha/Bethesda/Bethsaida” (depending on the translation). The name can mean “house of sheep,” “house of mercy,” or “flowing waters.” It was primarily the pool in which the priests would wash the animals (mostly sheep) for sacrifice in the temple, and the pool was renowned for its curative powers.

So why would Jesus ask such a question? Is the man’s desire for healing not clearly manifest by the amount of time he has been waiting by the pool for healing?

Yet, as strange as the question of Jesus might be, the man’s response is also intriguing. Instead of a simple “yes,” he pours out years of frustration in his answer. As he sees it, the reason he has not been healed is the fault of others. He appears to blame others for their lack of assistance at the time when he needs them, and he seems resentful over those who were healed before him. The former shows that he sees people as a means to an end, and the latter shows that he does not rejoice in the good that others experience but rather sees their good only as a personal loss. While he should rejoice that miracles of healing are taking place, he is frustrated that they are not taking place for him. 

The question of Jesus is, in a certain sense, acting as a salve to draw out the frustration, anger, and lack of love from the man’s soul before the Lord will heal his body. We begin to see the power of Christ’s word to heal sinful emotions by drawing them out. 

Jesus is also breaking the man out of a particular cycle of thinking. The man is so fixated on one method of being healed that his mind needs to be opened to a simpler and more perfect process. His mind, clouded by the presumption that this is the only way to be healed, does not recognize the Way Himself, who is now speaking with him. He responds too quickly to the question, without truly considering what is being asked. By not listening attentively to the words of Jesus, the man ends up delaying his healing.

After this question and response, the Lord heals him. A brief look at any of the Gospels would show the many ways in which Jesus heals. Sometimes He heals by touch (Mt 8:15, 9:29, 17:7), at other times through the laying on of His hands (Mk 6:5, 8:23, Lk 4:40 13:13)—but in this scene, He simply speaks. The One who said “‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Gen 1:3) is able to say, “Be healed,” and the man is healed. His words are creative, recreative, and healing. 

It might be helpful to see ourselves in the man who lays ill and ask ourselves whether we are falling into some of the same habits, emotional responses, or cycles of thinking that might be preventing our own healing (whatever that may be). Are we also turning to the wrong, or at least insufficient, means of healing? Has a fixation on our own need for healing made us indifferent or blind to the sufferings of others? 

While still desiring healing, do we also pray for the grace to rejoice like St. Paul in our sufferings for the sake of others (Col 1:24)? Do we give time every day to the most effective means of healing? Do we meditate daily on the Scriptures and allow the Living Word to reform, recreate, and heal us? Do we allow the Word to do in us what we cannot do ourselves? Can we, like Our Lady, submit ourselves in docility and say with her, “Be it done unto me according to thy Word” (Luke 1:38)?

So do you want to be well? Reform Wellness is functional medicine and holistic wellness practice rooted in Christ. We redefine health as the state of the body and soul, together. If you’re ready to start your reformation, you can join our upcoming 12-week Reform Online class, watch our free webinars, or join us every Wednesday at 12pm ET for community prayer.

The Author

Fr. Barry Braum was ordained a priest by Bishop Dominique Rey in the French diocese of Frejus-Toulon. Following his ordination Fr. Braum served as a retreat director in Long Island NY at the Eucharistic Retreat Center in the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception. While living there he directed Eucharistic retreats for priests, religious communities and the laity. In addition to these silent retreats he has also given many Eucharistic parish missions across Europe, Australia, Africa and throughout the United States. Having completed his STL in Dogmatic Theology in June 2019, Fr. Braum is currently working on his doctoral dissertation through the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, while also serving as chaplain to the Tyburn convent in London. Prior to entering seminary, Fr. Braum studied and worked as an artist and graphic designer with a focus on oil, acrylic and digital mediums. You can purchase fine art prints and canvases of his portraits of Pope St. John Paul II, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and St. Gemma Galgani in the Reform Shop.