Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12 / John 5:1-3,
5-16
Jesus cures a man: The man never gave up
hope.
Two frogs accidentally
tumbled into a bucket of cream. They thrashed about for an hour, trying to make
it up the side of the metal bucket. Exhausted, one of the frogs gasped, “It’s
no use!” With that, he gave up and drowned in the cream. The second frog,
however, struggled on. He thrashed and thrashed and thrashed about. Then,
suddenly, he found himself sitting safely on a lump of butter. It was this kind
of perseverance that the man in today’s gospel showed. For 38 years he sought
to be cured. He never gave up.
****
How persevering
are we? “The heights by great men
reached and kept Were not attained by sudden flight. But they, while their
companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
****
Water is a very fascinating element. It
is essential for life; coming after the need for air, the next is the need for
water as we can actually die of thirst. In its material dimension, it takes on
the shape of whatever container it goes into. And it can also exist as a
liquid, as a solid and as a gas. Hence, water is indeed a very versatile and
flexible element, not just in the material sense, but also in the spiritual
sense.
In the Biblical and Church tradition,
water symbolizes purity and fertility for out of the waters came forth creation
(Gen 1). Yet, there are also deeper meanings to water. Water is also a symbol
of blessing and healing.
In the 1st reading, the waters that flow
out of the Temple threshold gives life and health and brings about blessings on
the lands it which it flows.
And the gospel mentions of a Sheep Pool
in Jerusalem in which crowds of sick people gather around in search for healing
when the waters are disturbed.
In the Church there is a Rite of blessing
of water, after which the water is called "holy water". It is used to
remind us of our baptism, of the blessings that God wants to bestow on us, and
also for healing. Hence, holy water should be used often and not sporadically. When
holy water is used with faith, it becomes a source of cleansing and
purification for us, and it can also be a source of healing and blessing for
us.
****
Lent
Tuesday, 4th week - Liturgy
Introduction
Water flows from the Temple and turns the land into a fertile
paradise, bringing health and life, says Ezekiel. But this living Temple is
Christ, says John. Encountering him means forgiveness, health, and life. These
readings on the symbolism of life-giving water and on Christ have been chosen
in view of baptism, the Lenten-Easter sacrament: in its waters we encounter
Christ.
Penitential
Rite:
-Therefore, we
fear not, though the earth be shaken and mountains plunge into the depths of
the sea, LHM
-Because God is
our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress, CHM
-God is in its
midst; I shall not be disturbed; God will help at the break of dawn, LHM
Opening
Prayer
Lord our God, you have quenched our thirst for life with the water
of baptism. Keep turning the desert of our arid lives into a paradise of joy
and peace, that we may bear fruits of holiness, justice and love. Lord, hear
our prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Commentary
“Do you want to be healed?”
Jesus asked him. This seems an odd question when you consider that the
man had been waiting for thirty-eight years to be healed! But of course
we often have compelling reasons for clinging to our sicknesses. You will
no longer have people to take you around: do you want to be healed? You
will no longer have sympathy from everyone: do you want to be healed? You
will have to work, and you are not used to it: do you want to be healed?
He wanted to be healed.
Then Jesus said, “Stand up!” This too seems odd at first sight.
Jesus was asking him to do the very thing he could not do!
Then the miracle happened: the man made to
stand up. He overcame the habits – physical and mental – of more
than half a lifetime. His mind and will said, “Stand!” That
was an amazing achievement. Then, when he made to stand up, he found that
he could! The miracle was not worked ‘on’ him; it was worked ‘with’ him.
This is not to say that it was just mind over matter. It was the presence
of Jesus, but that presence in this case required the full conscious presence
of the paralysed man. What does it say to us? The very thing we
can't do is sometimes the only thing worth doing.
General Intercessions
- For people who are blind to the defects of their hearts and to the
needs of their neighbor, we pray:
- For people who are paralyzed by their fears and their lack of
courage, we pray:
- For the physically handicapped, those who are blind, lame and
paralyzed, that they may move the hearts of people and keep up their trust in
God, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, your Son Jesus comes among us in these
signs of bread and wine. May he be for us the source of living water from which
we can drink until we are satisfied, that we may turn this earth into a
hospitable place, which gives us a foretaste of your eternal paradise. We ask
you this through Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, we have encountered your Son in this Eucharistic
celebration. May he say to us too: "Pick up your sleeping mat and
walk," and may we indeed walk at the word of your Son and go to you his
way of goodness, justice and peace. We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Homily Prayer:
God of healing, we
come to you in pieces at times -- unable to hear your word, walk in your ways, hope
for what is beyond the human eye. We desire healing but know that by ourselves we
are unable to risk freedom's leap into your waiting arms. Have mercy, then, and
lift us. Carry us, O God, more deeply into the waters of our baptism. Drown us
in grace, that we may have life through the breath of your Spirit. Keep us
willing in hope... care-free in faith... waiting on love. Amen.
The Turning: Grace meets me on the road
and leads me to Jesus -- the miracle of my healing. To experience my weakness,
yet to realize acceptance, leads to healing...for God is not discouraged with
me even when I am discouraged with myself.
