DO WE WANT TO BE HEALED? - 03/29/22 (Tuesday of the 4th Week of Lent)

John 5:5-8,14

5 One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" 7 The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going another steps down before me." 8 Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your pallet, and walk."

14 Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you."

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Blessed Tuesday! In our gospel reading for today, a man was paralyzed for 38 years. The paralysis of the man is a reflection and symbolism of what our sins do to us. When we are in the state of sin, we cannot do what is pleasing to our Lord. It is truly difficult to persevere in virtues and in following the commandments of Christ. Some people today are living in the darkness of sins for years. Even if some of us are in the state of grace, we still realize that we receive temptations that are difficult to reject. Just as Jesus knows the sufferings of the sick man, our Lord is also aware of our struggles in our spiritual life. Because He is merciful, He desires to heal us of our spiritual illnesses with His Merciful Love. 

Jesus Christ asked the sick man if he wanted to be healed. The man could simply say "yes." But, he answered by telling our Lord how helpless he was and how much he suffered due to being stepped down by others. In his response, the man expressed how much he was begging to be healed, but he could not do it on its own. Like the paralyzed man, our God also asks us if we want to be healed. For sure, He knows our troubles in life. But, Jesus is inviting us to share and offer to Him our sufferings and pains. He wants us to humble ourselves by acknowledging how weak we are, how sinful we are, and how helpless we are without the grace of God. 

When our Lord was moved by His compassion towards the man, He ordered him to rise and walk. By the grace of God, we can also rise from always falling to sins, and we can walk with Jesus in our spiritual journey. If before, it seems impossible to do good works for God and for our neighbors, things will be easy if we depend on the mercy of God. It's not just enough for us to pray and tell Him our worries and sins. True humility will lead us to perseverance. When Jesus ordered the person to rise and walk, the man immediately did it. In the same way, we should immediately do God's will by being faithful in our resolutions to avoid sins or occasions of sins. This is why Jesus told him to sin no more. After we receive graces from God through the sacraments and our prayers, we should also be reminded to sin no more for us not to fall back to the darkness. 

Let's reflect upon the question that Jesus asks to all of us. Do we really want to be healed? Do we want to be cured of our worries, sins, tendencies, attachments and many more? If our answer to His questions is "yes", let's humbly admit to Him our weaknesses and our dependence to His strength. He is always with us. If we persevere in doing the will of God, He will raise us up from spiritual death, and we can walk with Him in the path to eternal life. 

Amen +

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic