Tuesday of the Fourth Week

Reflection

“Do you want to be well?”  This question by Jesus in today’s Gospel seems so simple.  My first response is: “Yes!  Of course!”  Anyone who has suffered an illness or who has stood by a loved one who was battling an illness or disease, I would also expect to respond with an enthusiastic yes.  But when we consider Jesus asking us this question about the brokenness in our lives caused by sin, we sometimes falter.  What is it about our brokenness and places in our lives that need healing that make us hesitant and reluctant about handing it over to Jesus?  Somehow, holding onto fear, bitterness, and resentment gives us a false sense of control or power over our hurt.  The gift of freedom, healing, and peace from Jesus might mean risking, letting go, embracing humility, and becoming vulnerable that can cause us to keep a firm grasp on our sinfulness and not turn towards Jesus to make us well, to let the stream of living water cleanse us and bring us back to wholeness. 

I once read a reflection by Margaret Silf on this passage where she engaged in Ignatian contemplation and placed herself within the Scripture story.  She engaged in conversation with Jesus using imaginative prayer where Jesus, while looking out at those gathered by the pool of Bethesda, asks “What do you think they are doing here?”  She responded: "They are waiting to be healed.  When the angel stirs the water, one of them will go in and be healed.”  “What is wrong with them?”  Jesus continued.  “Some are blind and others are paralyzed,” she replied.  “So how will any of them get to the pool when the water is stirred?  Surely those who are blind won’t see that the water has been stirred, and the ones who are paralyzed will see it but they won’t be able to move.”  This simple logic confounded her, and Jesus continued, “No one will reach the healing water alone.  They all need someone who will take them.  They need someone else’s eyes and limbs.”  

We all have brokenness in our lives.  Some of us are blinded to the truth.  Some of us are paralyzed by fear.  Beyond us asking Jesus to make us well, are there ways where we can be someone else’s eyes or limbs to help one another to the healing water Jesus offers?  May we find the courage to let go of our brokenness and turn towards Jesus, as well as help one another also respond to Jesus with, “Yes, I want to be well.”

Prayer

From the verse before today’s Gospel: A clean heart create for me, O God; give me back the joy of Your salvation.

Anna Lester, ’98, M’12, Assistant Director of Edmundite Campus Ministry

Scripture

First Reading: Ezekiel 47: 1-9, 12
Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
Gospel: John 5:1-16

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website