Answer the Question

John 5:1-18
I remember a scene from the TV show The West Wing that went something like this:

Man: Do you have a watch?

Woman: It’s 2:30.

Man: I didn’t ask you what time it was, I only asked if you had a watch. You should only answer the question that is asked, nothing more.

The story told in John’s gospel today contains a similar exchange in which the answer given does not match the question asked. “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’” (John 5:6-7). Jesus asked a man if he wished to be healed. Instead of saying yes or no, the man became defensive, offering excuses as to why he was still sick after 38 years. In other words, the man by the pool did not answer Jesus’ question.

Two things come to mind here. First of all, are we answering the questions that Jesus is actually asking us, or are we answering other, less important questions? When Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” are we stammering on about the terrible weather last Sunday morning, or the unexpected expenses we’ve encountered lately, or how difficult it is to find even a few moments of peace and quiet during the week? When Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” do we mention how much we’ve enjoyed the recent Bible study, or how the women’s luncheon was so lovely, or how the grass at the church needs cutting but that we assume someone else will take care of it? The answer to “Do you love me?” should be a resounding “Yes.” And the answer to “Who do you say that I am?” is “You are the Messiah, the Son of God.” So why have we put ourselves into the position of having to dodge these questions when Jesus asks them? Why do we get so defensive?

But that also leads me to wonder how often our society makes those in need feel as though they must make excuses for themselves. How often do we somehow blame the hungry for their condition, or hold the homeless accountable for living on the streets? How often do we assume those who are poor must have done something (or not done something) that lead to their plight? Do we automatically conclude that those who are sick must have brought it on themselves? Jesus offers no judgment in healing the man by the pool and only calls on him to live a life of righteousness after the fact. Are we not capable of the same mindset, or have our suspicions and our attitudes led us to the place where we cannot see a need without assigning blame to the one who suffers?

I offer those two thoughts today mainly because I am acutely aware of my own failings in this regard. I recognize how often I respond to Jesus’ questions with unrelated answers, and I know I make assumptions and act on stereotypes in relation to those in need. During this season of Lent, perhaps – with God’s help – I can do something about it. Maybe – with God’s help – you can, too.

Prayer: Lord of healing and restoration, help us to answer your questions with honesty and clarity and to meet the needs of our world without judgment or qualification. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Pop Quiz

Mark 8:27-9:1
“[Jesus] asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah’” (Mark 8:29). It’s funny how the question, “who do you say that Jesus is?” has the power to set a believer’s teeth to chattering and palms to sweating faster than just about any other. And yet, everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ should be ready to offer an answer. As a minister, the temptation I face is one of over-answering the question. If I find myself engaged in a conversation about faith – on an airplane for instance – I sometimes have to fight the urge to share stories about the early church fathers, or an explanation of the doctrine of the incarnation, or the differences between Presbyterianism, congregationalism, and the episcopacy as forms of church polity, as if any of that is truly key to knowing Jesus Christ. What answers like that do is to miss the point badly because they point off into the distance somewhere in some abstract way. What is needed is an answer that speaks in personal terms.

Over the years I’ve considered a number of ways to express who Jesus is to me without getting abstract, and the one that I’ve tended to use most often is this: Jesus Christ is the one who helps me make sense of my life. What I mean by that is that in his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus Christ demonstrated a complete trust in God and a devotion to God’s will that allowed him to live with a deep and abiding compassion for all. When I face times of challenge or crisis, when I am confronted by issues that I don’t understand or can’t explain, when the darkness seems to overwhelm the light, I am comforted by the fact that Jesus was willing to die for the sake of the world—me included. Jesus trusted in God, and that trust inspires me, it lifts me, it comforts me, and yes, it gives my life shape and meaning. Who do I say that Jesus is? I say that he is my Lord and Savior and I invite others to consider what it might mean for them to say the same.

Prayer: Lord God, we thank you for the love you have shown to the world in the person of Jesus Christ your Son in whom we see your grace poured out and in whose name we pray. Amen.