Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 245
Lectionary: 245
The angel brought me, Ezekiel,
back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the right side.
Then when he had walked off to the east
with a measuring cord in his hand,
he measured off a thousand cubits
and had me wade through the water,
which was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand
and once more had me wade through the water,
which was now knee-deep.
Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade;
the water was up to my waist.
Once more he measured off a thousand,
but there was now a river through which I could not wade;
for the water had risen so high it had become a river
that could not be crossed except by swimming.
He asked me, “Have you seen this, son of man?”
Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me,
“This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the right side.
Then when he had walked off to the east
with a measuring cord in his hand,
he measured off a thousand cubits
and had me wade through the water,
which was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand
and once more had me wade through the water,
which was now knee-deep.
Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade;
the water was up to my waist.
Once more he measured off a thousand,
but there was now a river through which I could not wade;
for the water had risen so high it had become a river
that could not be crossed except by swimming.
He asked me, “Have you seen this, son of man?”
Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me,
“This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
Responsorial
Psalm46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
R. (8) The Lord of hosts is
with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Verse Before
The GospelPS 51:12A, 14A
A clean heart create for me, O
God;
give me back the joy of your salvation.
give me back the joy of your salvation.
GospelJN 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 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 any more,
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.
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 any more,
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.
Meditation: "Walk
and sin no more"
Is
there anything holding you back from the Lord's healing power and transforming
grace that can set you free to live in wholeness, joy, and peace with God? God
put into the heart of the prophet Ezekiel a vision of the rivers of living
water flowing from God's heavenly throne to bring healing and restoration to
his people. We begin to see the fulfillment of this restoration taking place
when the Lord Jesus announces the coming of God's kingdom and performs signs and
miracles in demonstration of the power of that kingdom.
One
of the key signs which John points out in his Gospel account takes place in
Jerusalem when Jesus went up to the temple during one of the great Jewish
feasts (John 5:1-9). As Jesus approached the temple area he stopped at the pool
of Bethzatha which was close by. Many Jews brought their sick relatives and
friends to this pool. John tells us that a "multitude of invalids, blind,
lame, paralyzed" were laid there on the pavement surrounding the pool
(John 5:3). This pool was likely one of the ritual baths used for purification
for people before they went into the temple to offer prayers and sacrifice. On
certain occasions, especially when the waters were stirred, the lame and others
with diseases were dipped in the pool in the hope that they might be cured of
their ailments.
Do
you want the Lord Jesus to make you whole?
The lame man that Jesus stopped to speak with had been paralyzed for more than 38 years. He felt helpless because he had no friends to help him bathe in the purifying waters of the pool. Despite his many years of unanswered prayer, he still waited by the pool in the hope that help might come his way. Jesus offered this incurable man not only the prospect of help but total healing as well. Jesus first awakened faith in the paralyzed man when he put a probing question to him, "Do you really want to be healed?" This question awakened a new spark of faith in him. Jesus then ordered him to "get up and walk!" Now the lame man had to put his new found faith into action. He decided to take the Lord Jesus at his word and immediately stood up and began to walk freely.
The lame man that Jesus stopped to speak with had been paralyzed for more than 38 years. He felt helpless because he had no friends to help him bathe in the purifying waters of the pool. Despite his many years of unanswered prayer, he still waited by the pool in the hope that help might come his way. Jesus offered this incurable man not only the prospect of help but total healing as well. Jesus first awakened faith in the paralyzed man when he put a probing question to him, "Do you really want to be healed?" This question awakened a new spark of faith in him. Jesus then ordered him to "get up and walk!" Now the lame man had to put his new found faith into action. He decided to take the Lord Jesus at his word and immediately stood up and began to walk freely.
The
Holy Spirit purifies, heals, and transforms us in Christ's image
The Lord Jesus approaches each one of us with the same probing question, "Do you really want to be healed - to be forgiven, set free from guilt and sin, from uncontrollable anger and other disordered passions, and from hurtful desires and addictions. The first essential step towards freedom and healing is the desire for change. If we are content to stay as we are, then no amount of coaxing will change us. The Lord will not refuse anyone who sincerely asks for his pardon, mercy, and healing.
The Lord Jesus approaches each one of us with the same probing question, "Do you really want to be healed - to be forgiven, set free from guilt and sin, from uncontrollable anger and other disordered passions, and from hurtful desires and addictions. The first essential step towards freedom and healing is the desire for change. If we are content to stay as we are, then no amount of coaxing will change us. The Lord will not refuse anyone who sincerely asks for his pardon, mercy, and healing.
"Lord
Jesus, put within my heart a burning desire to be changed and transformed in
your way of holiness. Let your Holy Spirit purify my heart and renew in me a
fervent love and desire to do whatever is pleasing to you and to refuse
whatever is contrary to your will."
A
Daily Quote for Lent: Christ
our physician, by Augustine of Hippo, 430-543 A.D.
"Our
wound is serious, but the Physician is all-powerful. Does it seem to you so
small a mercy that, while you were living in evil and sinning, He did not take
away your life, but brought you to belief and forgave your sins? What I suffer
is serious, but I trust the Almighty. I would despair of my mortal wound if I
had not found so great a Physician." (excerpt from Sermon
352,3)
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, JOHN 5:1-16
Lenten Weekday
(Ezekiel 47:1-9. 12; Psalm 46)
Lenten Weekday
(Ezekiel 47:1-9. 12; Psalm 46)
KEY VERSE: "Rise, take up your mat, and walk" (v.8).
TO KNOW: The third "sign, of God's mighty work in John’s gospel was the healing of the paralytic who had been crippled for 38 years. Excavations have uncovered the Bethesda pool with its five porticoes where Jesus healed the man. A popular belief of the time was that when the water became turbulent (caused by a sudden inflow through the drain) the first person to get into the pool would be cured (v.4, the account of an angel stirring up the waters is missing from early Greek manuscripts and is probably a later addition). When Jesus asked the crippled man if he wanted to be healed, the man explained that no one had ever helped him into the water (a baptismal symbol). Jesus' powerful word restored the man to full health. But the healing was surrounded by disbelief and accusations that Jesus violated the law by curing on the Sabbath. Jesus warned them that it was sin, more than physical infirmity, which prevented a person from responding to God's grace.
TO LOVE: In what ways do I need to "rise and walk" this Lent?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, heal me of everything that makes me unable to “stand in your grace” (Ro 5:2).
Tuesday 24 March 2020
Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12. The Lord of hosts is with us: the
God of Jacob is our stronghold – Psalm 45(46):2-3, 5-6, 8-9ab. John
5:1-3, 5-16.
‘Do you want to be made well?’
In Jesus’ society, those who were sick or paralysed were pushed
to the margins. They were unable to participate fully in the religious life of
the community because of a cruel vision which saw them as impure. The
desperation of the sick is captured in today’s Gospel with their scramble to
enter the healing waters of the pool of Beth-zatha. Jesus’ offer of healing
promises a return to a peaceful existence within society.
In our personal lives we can suffer from spiritual paralysis
from time to time. This paralysis can result in withdrawal from normal
relationships and a narrowing of our horizons. Whatever its source, Jesus
always offers the promise of healing and a restoration to fullness of life.
Let’s take time today to spend time in his presence, calling upon his holy
name. In time he will bring us to a renewed peace
Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero
Saint of the Day for March 24
(August 15, 1917 – March 24, 1980)
 |
| Saint Oscar Romero at the Trevi Fountain in Rome, 1977 | Archdiocese of San Salvador |
Saint Oscar Romero’s Story
The night before he was murdered while celebrating Mass,
Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador said on the radio: “I would like to
appeal in a special way to the men of the army, and in particular to the troops
of the National Guard, the police, and the garrisons. Brothers, you belong to
our own people. You kill your own brother peasants; and in the face of an order
to kill that is given by a man, the law of God that says ‘Do not kill!’ should
prevail.
“No soldier is obliged to obey an order counter to the law of
God. No one has to comply with an immoral law. It is the time now that you
recover your conscience and obey its dictates rather than the command of sin. .
. . Therefore, in the name of God, and in the name of this long-suffering
people, whose laments rise to heaven every day more tumultuous, I beseech you,
I beg you, I command you! In the name of God: ‘Cease the repression!’”
Simultaneously, Romero had eloquently upheld the gospel and
effectively signed his own death warrant.
When he was appointed archbishop of San Salvador in 1977, Bishop
Romero was considered a very “safe” choice. He had served as auxiliary bishop
there for four years before his three years as bishop of Santiago de Maria.
Oscar’s father wanted him to be a carpenter—a trade for which he
demonstrated some talent. Seminary classes in El Salvador preceded his studies
at Rome’s Gregorian University and his ordination in 1942. After earning a
doctorate in ascetical theology, he returned home and became a parish priest
and later rector of an interdiocesan seminary.
Three weeks after his appointment as archbishop, Romero was
shaken by the murder of his good friend Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande, a
vigorous defender of the rights of the poor. Five more priests were
assassinated in the Archdiocese of San Salvador during Romero’s years as its
shepherd.
When a military junta seized control of the national government
in 1979, Archbishop Romero publicly criticized the US government for backing
the junta. His weekly radio sermons, broadcast throughout the country, were
regarded by many as the most trustworthy source of news available.
Romero’s funeral was celebrated in the plaza outside the
cathedral and drew an estimated 250,000 mourners.
His tomb in the cathedral crypt soon drew thousands of visitors
each year. On February 3, 2015, Pope Francis authorized a decree recognizing
Oscar Romero as a martyr for the faith. His beatification took place in San
Salvador on May 23, 2015. He was canonized on October 14, 2018.
Reflection
Oscar Romero and many other Latin American martyrs for the faith
were falsely accused of advocating a Marxist-inspired “theology of liberation.”
Following Jesus always requires choices. Romero’s fiercest critics conveniently
dismissed his choices as politically inspired. An incarnational faith must be
expressed publicly.
Lectio Divina: John 5:1-16
Lectio Divina
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Season of Lent ✝
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
You have quenched our thirst for life
with the water of baptism.
Keep turning the desert of our arid lives
into a paradise of joy and peace,
that we may bear fruits
of holiness, justice and love.
Lord, hear our prayer
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
You have quenched our thirst for life
with the water of baptism.
Keep turning the desert of our arid lives
into a paradise of joy and peace,
that we may bear fruits
of holiness, justice and love.
Lord, hear our prayer
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
2) 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 any more, 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.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel describes Jesus curing the paralytic who had
waited 38 years for someone to help him get to the water of the pool so as to
be healed! Thirty-eight years! Faced with this total absence of solidarity,
what does Jesus do? He transgresses the law of Saturday and cures the
paralytic. Today, in poor countries, assistance to sick people is lacking;
people experience the same lack of solidarity. They live in total abandonment,
without help or solidarity from anyone.
• John 5:1-2: Jesus goes to Jerusalem. On the occasion of the
Jewish festival, Jesus goes to Jerusalem. There, close to the Temple, was a
pool with five porticos or corridors. At that time, worship in the Temple
required much water because of the numerous animals which were sacrificed,
especially during the great festivals. This is why near the Temple there were
several cisterns where rain water was gathered. Some could contain over one
thousand litres. Close by, because of the abundance of water, there was a
public bathing resort, where crowds of sick people gathered waiting for help or
to be healed. Archeology has shown that in the same precincts of the Temple,
there was a place where the Scribes taught the Law to students. On one side,
the teaching of the Law of God. On the other, the abandonment of the poor. The
water purified the Temple, but it did not purify the people.
• John 5:3-4: The situation of the sick. These sick people were
attracted by the water of the bathing resort. They said that an angel would
disturb the water, and the first one who would enter after the angel disturbed
the water, would be cured. In other words, the sick people were attracted by a
false hope – a superstition. Healing was only for one person. Just like the
lottery today. Only one person gets the prize! The majority pays and wins
nothing. In this situation of total abandonment, in the public baths, Jesus
meets sick people.
• John 5:5-9: Jesus cures a sick man on Saturday. Very close to
the place where the observance of the Law was taught, a paralytic had been
waiting for 38 years for someone who would help him to go down to the water to
be cured. This fact reveals the total lack of solidarity and of acceptance of
the excluded! Number 38 indicated the duration of a whole generation (Dt 2:14).
It is a whole generation which does not experience solidarity or mercy.
Religion at that time was not able to reveal the welcoming and merciful face of
God. In the face of this dramatic situation Jesus transgresses the law of
Saturday and takes care of the paralytic, saying, “Get up, pick up your
sleeping-mat and walk around!” The man picked up his mat and started to walk
around among the people.
• John 5:10-13: Discussion of the cured man with the Jews.
Immediately after, some Jews arrived and criticized the man who was carrying
his sleeping mat on the Sabbath. The man did not know who the one who had cured
him was. He did not know Jesus. This means that Jesus, passing by that place
where the poor and the sick were, saw that person; He noticed the dramatic
situation in which the man found himself and cured him. He did not cure him to
convert him, neither so that he would believe in God. He cured him because He
wanted to help him. He wanted the man to experience love and solidarity through
His help and loving acceptance.
• John 5:14-16: The man meets Jesus again. Going to the Temple,
in the midst of the crowds, Jesus meets the same man and tells him, “Now, you
are well again, do not sin any more, or something worse may happen to you.” In
that age, people thought and said, “Sickness is a punishment from God. God is
with you!” Once the man is cured, he has to keep from sinning again, so that
nothing worse will happen to him! But in his naiveté, the man went to tell the
Jews that Jesus had cured him. The Jews began to ask Jesus why He did those
things on the Sabbath. In tomorrow’s Gospel we have what follows.
4) Personal questions
• If I were the cured man, and told not to say anything, would I
be silent or not?
• By proclaiming what had been done for him, despite his instruction, did he sin again?
• Have I ever had an experience similar to that of the paralytic: to remain for some time without any help? How is the situation regarding assistance to the sick in the place where you live? Do you see any signs of solidarity?
• Do I show the same compassion and help others without expecting a return and in a significant way every day?
• By proclaiming what had been done for him, despite his instruction, did he sin again?
• Have I ever had an experience similar to that of the paralytic: to remain for some time without any help? How is the situation regarding assistance to the sick in the place where you live? Do you see any signs of solidarity?
• Do I show the same compassion and help others without expecting a return and in a significant way every day?
5) Concluding Prayer
God is both refuge and strength for us,
a help always ready in trouble;
so we shall not be afraid though the earth be in turmoil,
though mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,
and its waters roar and seethe,
and the mountains totter as it heaves. (Ps 46:1-3)
a help always ready in trouble;
so we shall not be afraid though the earth be in turmoil,
though mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,
and its waters roar and seethe,
and the mountains totter as it heaves. (Ps 46:1-3)
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