The Power of Self-Love
John 5:1–18

T

hinking of this passage in light of the themes of Lent and love, there is a portion we often overlook. Yes, this is about healing. Yes, this is about Jesus’ power and the reality of the kingdom he is establishing. Yes, it is about challenging the letter-of-the-law leaders. But, what if we also look at what is not said, at what must happen as a part of this miraculous healing narrative? 

Some often focus on the oddity of Jesus telling the man to take up his mat and walk himself, but perhaps it is in this very act taken on by the man, that we discover one of the most important parts of this story - the power of self-love.  Love in and through Christ that we first accept for ourselves, which then calls us to the work of loving God and others.  Love that is personal, but never individual.  Love that is most fully seen in the cross and resurrection - that is sacrificial and life-giving.  Just as we must first accept God’s love and grace through Christ in order to be saved, we must first love ourselves as God loves us in order to be healed.  Then, we can share this saving grace and love with others and become part of God’s healing work in the world. 

Perhaps in this Lenten season, God is inviting us on a journey not just to remember that God loves us and how fully and freeing that love is, but to discover within that love… the power of self-love.

Reflection: Can we say yes to loving ourselves first, that we too might take up our mats and walk?  And in doing so inspire others to follow?  Can we see that love of self through Christ is essential and not selfish? Can we see how Jesus models this in his own earthly journey? In a time of high burn-out and weariness, perhaps if Christians embraced the fullness of God’s saving love, we might better embody Jesus and become the people, communities, and church God calls us to be.