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Mall ratTuesday, March 4, 2008
John 5:8-12 Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, "It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat." He answered them, "The man who made me well told me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'"
They asked him, "Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?"
A: What were you doing at the mall anyway? Why weren't you in church? B: But how cool is it? I got healed at the mall, on a Sunday, when I shouldn't even have been there. I guess God loves me an awful lot. A: Now wait a minute. Don't confuse yourself. Myself. Don't put such a loose construction on this. You know as well as I do that your place on Sunday was in church. And that's what I'm upset about. I mean, it's great that you can walk for the first time in your life, but ... you understand, don't you? Your place was in church. How can something so wrong feel so good? And how can this develop into anything positive when it's laid in a bed of Sin? B: Well, I don't know. I'm glad those questions aren't coming to my mind. I just keep thinking of what it was like to feel those arms under my back and under my knees lifting me up in the air and standing me up on my feet, and I was jiggling around and then I stumbled a little, and then I didn't fall at all. I looked up, and took a step, and put out my arms, and laughed. A: I'm feeling grumpier every minute. Why does that happen at the mall but never at church? What is God thinking? Surely he doesn't shop on Sundays. What are rules for? I'm getting tired of being the only one who cares about these things. B: Hey, maybe God will heal you too, if you want him to. A: Well, it all depends on where he wants to do it, that's all I have to say. I'll have to let you know. B: Let Him know, too. He's listening. Joy comes in the morning, Lord, in the mall and in the sanctuary, and I want to be there. |
It's Tuesday, so if you're crippled and get healed, feel free to push your own wheelchair back home. But woe be unto you if you're at the mall on Sunday and the same thing happens.