One of my dear friends hates the name of my blog. As she states, the idea of brokenness suggests we depend on God too much. It implies that we rely on God to do for us what we could do ourselves. This idea confronted me this morning as I was reading John chapter 5. For those unfamiliar with this chapter of the Bible, it includes the story of a man. He was crippled for thirty-eight years. This man is found by Jesus as he is laying by a pool. As he is laying there Jesus asked him a simple question, do you want to be made well? The man’s response is an interesting one. He does not simply say yes. Instead, he says I have no one to help me in the pool. In the King James version of the Bible an explanation is given about the importance of the pool. As the text says, an angel arrived once a year. The angel stirred up the pool. The first one who entered would be made well. For thirty-eight years, the man made his way to this pool. Somehow, he was never able to enter the pool first.
Here is a situation where a miracle from Jesus was not needed. As I reflected more on this passage what I saw as the issue here is the lack of community. When I hear this text preached, I hear about the miracle that Jesus performed. We take comfort in Jesus showing his power over creation. We take comfort in Jesus’ ability to heal. As I was reading this text, that was not my first thought. My first impression was that this is not a miracle. Although the miraculous happened, it was more a formal accusation on the lack of community. Now whether we think an angel stirred up the water or not does not matter. What matters is that for thirty-eight years no one else helped the man into the water. There could have been many reasons why this never happened. Some people might have thought their needs were more important. Maybe nobody cared about this man. Perhaps he just went unnoticed. Whatever the case may have been, the fact remains. This man did not need Jesus for his healing. He needed community. What do I mean when I say this? For thirty-eight years a community had time to place this man into the water and did not. Everything the man needed to for his healing, was already present. The man needed his community to help him.
Jesus here is calling us to a renewed sense of community. He is calling us to recognize our need for one another. This flies in the face of American individualism and exceptionalism. We have learned all our lives that we are to be rugged individuals who can conquer all our tasks. To need others is to be weak, to be in need is to be vulnerable. Jesus is calling us to one of the scariest things that we can do; to trust others with our well-being. As a man one of the scariest things to me is the idea that I need others to help me. In my newfound condition I rely on my community for almost everything. I need help getting dressed. I need help showering. I can no longer drive. I am reliant on others to get me around. If my community fails me, I will be in the same position as the man who laid by the waters. He waited there for thirty-eight years. The man’s community had failed him for thirty-eight years. The actions of Jesus to me demonstrate his indictment of the community that failed to help people in need.
As men can we recognize our need for others?
Do we see ourselves as weak for needing help?
As I read these verses this morning, I read it as a call to action. Too often, we wait for God’s help. We are the help that God has provided to others. We are also the help God has provided to ourselves. We are the change that we have been waiting for, we are the help for which we have been praying. Jesus is calling us to be a restored community that can help restore others around us. Just a few thoughts as I sat around the house this morning. Thank you for listening!
Black and Broken 
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