At the Pool of Bethesda, Jesus meets a man who has been waiting for healing and He does what no one else could do. He heals him: “Rise, take up your mat and walk.”
On Father Simon Says, Father Richard Simon reflects on this miracle from Chapter 5 of John’s Gospel, and shows that it’s about more than physical healing. It is also about learning to see Scripture as it is, not as we imagine it to be.
Father Simon begins with the detail that once puzzled skeptics: the pool with five porticos. For years, some claimed John’s Gospel must be mistaken. Then archaeology confirmed it. The five porticos were real. It is a reminder that when we force our own assumptions onto the Bible, we can miss what is right in front of us.
That same theme continues in the healed man’s encounter with Jesus. When Our Lord later tells him, “Do not sin anymore, that nothing worse may happen to you,” Father Simon warns against a shallow reading. Jesus is not saying sickness is the greatest evil. Sin is worse than sickness because it wounds the soul. Real healing is not only restoration of the body, but conversion of heart.
Father Simon also reflects on the Sabbath controversy. The authorities could not see past their own narrow interpretation of the law to recognize that Jesus had restored a man’s life. That danger remains for us. We can cling to inherited assumptions, popular portrayals, or half-remembered stories instead of listening carefully to the Word of God.
To read Scripture well, Father Simon suggests, we must approach it with humility and fresh eyes. Only then can we see Christ clearly.
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