Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

“Look, you are well; do not sin anymore.”

Gospel Reading: John  5:1-16

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”  He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.

In today’s Gospel, we hear the story of a man who is seeking the healing power of the living waters.  All he needs to do to get healed is to get into the pool.  The water is probably less than 100-feet from where he laid. He tries and tries to get to the water, but for some reason he is blocked every time.  Jesus seeing his struggles and his desire to be healed says to the man, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”  In Jesus, we find the true healing waters.  When we find Christ, we can encounter the waters that will heal us.  During this Lenten season, Jesus calls us to “Rise” and find strength in his word.  The man eventually realizes that Christ is the true healing water because we are ALL born again through our baptism in the living waters of Christ. Christ pours out his eternal love for all mankind. From Christ flows the river of life, poured out in the word and in the sacraments. The living waters heal the deepest of our wounds, those wounds that prevent us from walking to him. “To the thirsty I will give a gift from the life-giving waters” (Rev 21:6). If you are thirsty for the love of God, his water is plentiful. Christ is the living, healing water who cured this man. We must realize that it is only through the living waters that we are healed. We must want the water of life before we can experience the healing power. The more we experience the water of life, the more we become committed to God. We may stumble on our journey, but God is always there to heal us for our fruit will never wither. If you want to get well, you will need to “Rise, take your mat, and walk.”  Walk to the water that flows from Christ, the water that gives life to every living creature.

A Simple Prayer

Jesus, thank you for saving me and setting me on this journey toward heaven.

During this season of Lent, help me get into the river,

let the river push me into a deeper relationship with you.

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon