“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” – John 5:7

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 27, 2017): John 5

Ronald Reagan commented, “We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone.” The truth is that we all need help at some point in our lives. None of us can achieve everything in this life on our own. We need help.

Unfortunately, we tend to live our lives as if that isn’t true. Every week I see people putting up barriers between themselves and someone else that actually results in them being placed outside of the circle of help when the time of need arrives. I am pretty sure we do not do it Intentionally. But it is often in those words that we use when we are in a hurry, or, to be honest, when we are being selfish – those times when there is something that we want, and we feel that someone else seems to be standing in our way. I see it often in the move to leave the church after the service. Some people appear to want to get out quickly to whatever the afternoon holds for them, and often they trip over each other saying unkind words or using unkind gestures in their effort to get through the doors. The words don’t help them get out any faster, but one more barrier has been put in place between people who, someday, will need each other.

The myth that surrounded the pool at Bethesda was that when the water moved, it was an angel that was moving it. And when the angel touched the water, the first person to get into the water would be healed. And so the sick gathered, often with the help of family and friends, who would watch for the water of the pool to move. And when it moved, there was a rush to see who could get into the water first. It wasn’t that anyone was intentionally rude to this man who had gathered at the edge of the pool, but in their rush to get their special someone into the water, he was overlooked.

There was no way he would ever get into the water first unless someone helped him. But this man by the pool is not alone. There were others who needed help into the pool. And we all need that help at some point in our lives. Ronald Reagan is right. We can all help somebody. And someday, we might just be the one who is getting assistance to get into our pool of healing.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Matthew 12