Jesus saw the lame man at the pool,
and asked, “Do you want to be made well?”
Instead of an answer,
the man gave an explanation.
But explanations become rationalizations,
and rationalizations become excuses,
and “Yes, but…” just means “No, thank you.”
Lord,
Forgive us for preferring
the familiarity of the present pain
to the joy of new life that you offer.
Amen