."Do You Want to Be Made Well?" Living Compass Spirituality and Wellness Podcast Lent Series: Cultivating Healing and Wholeness with All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind
In this Lent episode, host Scott Stoner reflects on one of the most striking healing stories in the Gospels — Jesus's encounter with a man who had been ill for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1–9). At the heart of the story is a deceptively simple question Jesus asks the man: Do you want to be made well?
Scripture John 5:1–9 — Jesus encounters a man among many who are blind, lame, and paralyzed near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, and asks him a single, penetrating question rather than inquiring about the nature of his illness or how long he has suffered.
Key Themes
The Power of the Question — Of all the things Jesus could have asked, he asked only this. It is not a question meant to shame or judge. It is an invitation to examine our deepest desire and longing.
Getting Comfortable in Our Dysfunction — Sometimes we hold on to our dis-ease because it is familiar. Scott shares a personal story from his time as a parish pastor, when a church council member lovingly turned the question back on him after he repeatedly reported struggling with overwork and neglecting self-care. The community's gentle, loving accountability became a real turning point.
"I Have No One to Put Me in the Pool" — The man in the story believes healing can only come one specific way. Jesus gently shows him otherwise. How often do we say, "I'll be whole, I'll be at peace, I'll be able to let go — but only when this happens"? Healing often involves releasing our need to control the how and when.
Letting Go — Much of the invitation in this story is about loosening our grip — on ego, on control, on habit energy that keeps us stuck. The Divine source of healing may be closer than we think, and arriving by a path we didn't expect.
Connect with Scott Scott welcomes your reflections on this episode. How does this story land for you? Where are you sitting with the question Do you want to be made well? Reach him at scott@livingcompass.org.
Free PDF of the devotional booklet and daily email reflections available at livingcompass.org.
Resources Mentioned
Daily readings booklet — PDF download or daily email signup available at livingcompass.org
Living Compass App — search "Living Compass" in your app store or visit app.livingcompass.org; includes guided Lenten meditations; free trial for one year, then $10/year
Spanish-language content — daily reflections by Estela Lopez and Pedro Lopez (Bruja La De Vida), PDF available at livingcompass.org and posted daily on the Bruja La De Vida Facebook page
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