Commentary on the Gospel of
Hitting Where It Hurts
“Flooding” or “in-vivo exposure” is a behavioral modification technique used by some therapists to treat some phobias. The patient is flooded with the stimulus that causes anxiety, so as to create desensitization and mastery. Jesus does this sort of hitting where it hurts most when he asks the paralyzed man to get up, take up the mat, and walk! How on earth do you expect a man paralyzed for 38 years to do so? The truth was: the man was more paralyzed in his will than in his body. He lacked personal agency. Not that he was able to move by himself into the pond; but when Jesus asked him a straightforward question, “Do you want to be healed?”, instead of answering with a resounding “Yes!”, he was wallowing in self-pity, playing the blame game. Jesus ordered him to take responsibility for himself and do the impossible. To the man’s credit, he did!
