20150308 DO YOU WANT TO BE WELL AGAIN?
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
|
First reading
|
|
Ezekiel
47:1-9,12 ©
|
The angel brought me
to the entrance of the Temple, where a stream came out from under the Temple
threshold and flowed eastwards, since the Temple faced east. The water flowed
from under the right side of the Temple, south of the altar. He took me out by
the north gate and led me right round outside as far as the outer east gate
where the water flowed out on the right-hand side. The man went to the east
holding his measuring line and measured off a thousand cubits; he then made me
wade across the stream; the water reached my ankles. He measured off another
thousand and made me wade across the stream again; the water reached my knees.
He measured off another thousand and made me wade across again; the water
reached my waist. He measured off another thousand; it was now a river which I
could not cross; the stream had swollen and was now deep water, a river
impossible to cross. He then said, ‘Do you see, son of man?’ He took me
further, then brought me back to the bank of the river. When I got back, there
were many trees on each bank of the river. He said, ‘This water flows east down
to the Arabah and to the sea; and flowing into the sea it makes its waters
wholesome. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will
live. Fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the water goes it brings
health, and life teems wherever the river flows. Along the river, on either
bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and
fruit that never fails; they will bear new fruit every month, because this
water comes from the sanctuary. And their fruit will be good to eat and the
leaves medicinal.’
|
Responsorial
Psalm
|
|
Psalm
45:2-3,5-6,8-9 ©
|
The Lord of hosts
is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
God is for us a
refuge and strength,
a helper
close at hand, in time of distress,
so we shall not fear
though the earth should rock,
though
the mountains fall into the depths of the sea.
The Lord of hosts
is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
The waters of a river
give joy to God’s city,
the holy
place where the Most High dwells.
God is within, it
cannot be shaken;
God will
help it at the dawning of the day.
The Lord of hosts
is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
The Lord of hosts is
with us:
the God
of Jacob is our stronghold.
Come, consider the
works of the Lord,
the
redoubtable deeds he has done on the earth.
The Lord of hosts
is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Ps50:12,14
|
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
A pure heart create
for me, O God,
and give me again the
joy of your help.
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
|
Gospel
|
John 5:1-3,5-16 ©
|
There was a Jewish
festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now at the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem
there is a building, called Bethzatha in Hebrew, consisting of five porticos;
and under these were crowds of sick people – blind, lame, paralysed –
waiting for the water to move; One man there had an illness which had lasted
thirty-eight years, and when Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had been in
this condition for a long time, he said, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ ‘Sir,’
replied the sick man ‘I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is
disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone else gets there before me.’
Jesus said, ‘Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk.’ The man was cured at
once, and he picked up his mat and walked away.
Now
that day happened to be the sabbath, so the Jews said to the man who had been
cured, ‘It is the sabbath; you are not allowed to carry your sleeping-mat.’ He
replied, ‘But the man who cured me told me, “Pick up your mat and walk.”’ They
asked, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Pick up your mat and walk”?’ The man
had no idea who it was, since Jesus had disappeared into the crowd that filled
the place. After a while Jesus met him in the Temple and said, ‘Now you are
well again, be sure not to sin any more, or something worse may happen to you.’
The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. It was
because he did things like this on the sabbath that the Jews began to persecute
Jesus.
DO YOU
WANT TO BE WELL AGAIN?
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: Ezekiel
47:1-9,12; Ps
45,2-3,5-6,8-9; John 5,1-16
We
are in the second semester of the season of Lent. We see a deliberate shift of
focus from the teaching on spiritual life and growth to that of faith in the
person of Jesus who is the Christ, the Son of God. Yesterday, we read of
Christ as the life-giver who raised the official’s son back to life.
Today, we read that Jesus is the healer. Jesus has come to heal us not
just physically but in soul and spirit.
Hence,
the question of Jesus to us all is “do you want to be well again?” In
asking this question, it means that God’s plan for us all is that we are
healthy and well. This is God’s greatest desire for us. So
what have brought us illness? The answer is sin. Because of sin, not only
are we physically sick but emotionally and psychologically affected as
well. Emotional and psychological illnesses cause us to sin even
more. That is why Jesus warned the man not to go back to sin
again. He was paralyzed by his sins. He carried the sins for 38
years; perhaps of anger, unforgiveness, resentment, unable to forgive himself
and others who have hurt him.
Similarly,
as we approach Easter, many Catholics would be going to the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. Yet, the truth is that many are going not because
they sincerely want to change their lives but because they want temporary
forgiveness and peace, or so that they can receive communion during
Easter. There is no real sincerity to make any resolution not to sin
again, as Jesus warned us, “Now you are well again, be sure not to sin any
more, or something worse may happen to you.”
The
irony is that many want to be healed but they do not understand that God
desires more than to heal us of our sicknesses. He wants to restore us to the
fullness of life, physically, spiritually, emotionally and
psychologically. So many people are only concerned about physical healing
so that they can eat, see and walk again.
Even
if we are physically well but we are not happy in our mind and heart, we have
no peace, but a bad conscience. What is the use of having a healthy life then? Physical healing alone cannot
give us peace and joy but it is spiritual and emotional healing that truly
heals us and makes us happy. That is why even those suffering physically
are often in greater peace and joy than those of us who are healthy because we
are always fighting with others, competing with them, and making ourselves
angry, envious and unhappy.
So
what is the reason for God wanting to heal us or to give us good health? Does God heal us so that, once
physically well, we can sin even more, cheat people, scold others, slander
them, womanize, eat all that we want, caring only for ourselves and living for
ourselves? If we are healed to live such a selfish life, we will
certainly be sick again in no time. We are healed not for ourselves or to
become the healthiest sinner. We are healed so that we can live a
life of love and service. We are healed for the service of the kingdom
and for the greater glory of God. Like Peter’s mother-in-law, she was
healed so that she could minister to others. If God gives us good health,
it is in order that we can continue to give life to others and be at the
service of the People of God.
So
how can we continue to do so? First we must come to Jesus, the river of life, who gives us the
Holy Spirit. He will teach us how to live a holistic life of wisdom and love.
We come to the Temple, the Church to draw water from Christ who is the living
and flowing river. He is the vine and we are the branches. As the
psalmist says, “The waters of a river give joy to God’s city, the holy place
where the Most High dwells.”
Secondly,
we must enter into the water. This is what the first reading is telling us. We
cannot remain standing on the bank of the river. This means that we must
be baptized in Christ, be submerged in Him, dying to self and living a new
life. For those of us who are already baptized, we must enter deeper and
deeper into the river like the man. We must have the courage to deepen
our faith in the Lord. We cannot act like Jesus unless we get to know Him
more and love Him more. It would be risky to be healed by Jesus and yet
not know Him, as was the case of the man who “had no idea who it was since
Jesus had disappeared into the crowd that filled the place. The man
went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. It was because
he did things like this on the Sabbath that the Jews began to persecute Jesus.”
Thirdly,
we must be like Jesus, the flowing river who gives life to the trees and
fishes. We must
give life to others and be a light to the world. Wherever we go, we must
bring joy, not pain, to others, light, not darkness, forgiveness, not revenge,
encouragement, not despair. Do people welcome our presence or does our
presence take away their joy and peace? Only when we give life to others,
can we find life ourselves. When our whole life is like Jesus’, a healer
and life-giver, we will find happiness ourselves. What we give to others,
we give to ourselves two-fold. That is why it is more blessed to give
than to receive. Indeed, many are waiting for Jesus to come into their lives so
that they can find hope. Many are sick, paralyzed by their fears and
past, many are blind to the truth and they are saying like the sick man, “Sir,
I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I
am still on the way, someone else gets there before me.” Let us be
that angel to put them into the water so that they can enter the river of life
and love in Christ.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment