JN 5:1-16
The Gospel reading today showcases one of the many miracles that Jesus performed in his public ministry. The setting is described: Hebrew Bethesda (a pool) with a great number of “ill, blind, lame, and crippled.” Jesus is very much seen with the lowest of low, for he came to call the sinners to repentance. There was a sick man “who had been ill for thirty-eight years.” Knowing that he had been ill for a while, Jesus asked him “Do you want to be well?” The man says to Jesus that he cannot do so, and when he has tried, he isn’t able to. Jesus then says to him “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” It is immediately after Jesus says those words that the man became well.
Here the power and healing Jesus so very much offers is seen once again. Jesus is so willing to put an end to suffering and hardness, replacing weakness with strength and giving hope. The man, after he experiences this, is confronted by Jesus again. He tells him to “not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” Jesus urges him to put aside sin and live the new life that Jesus has given him. And this is what He urges us to do. May we this Lent remember this sense of calling that God has for us every day, having confidence that God can give us the strength and courage to conquer whatever that draws us away from His will.