Some years ago, I attended a clergy gathering
and was pleased to attend. The weather was magnificent.
And so when I arrived at the church, I greeted
my clergy colleagues. by saying, what a heavenly
day it is. And a deacon, a recently ordained
deacon said, Father Michael, let's not talk shop.
Well, this morning I'm going to talk shop. And
I'm using the text found in the fifth chapter
of John. It's a text that has many levels of
interpretation. It's one that we could easily
overlook. You may not have noticed, but since
Pascha night until Pentecost, all of the readings
are taken from the fourth chapter of the fourth
gospel, meaning John. There are some visible
descriptive images in every one of these Sunday
readings. There is only one exception to that
and that was last Sunday when we read from Mark's
Gospel. And so throughout those readings we have
these descriptions or references or images of
Christ. He is called the Word, the Messiah. the
light of the world, grace and truth, and in the
words of the Apostle Thomas, my Lord and my God.
In these images, Christ is clearly revealed as
the one who came to seek, And to save. The least.
The last. And the lost. I want to quote from.
Today's gospel. The fourth verse. In these. lay
a great multitude of invalid folk, blind, halt,
withered, and waiting for the movement of the
water. On one occasion, as Jesus went by this
famous pool, referred to as the Pool of Bethesda,
there were a multitude of people, invalids as
the evangelist God calls them. But out of the
multitude of people, Christ focuses his eyes
on one individual, an invalid, a paralytic, who
for 38 years lay in this Hopeless and helpless
condition. And Jesus asked him this question.
Do you want to be healed? That sounds like a
very naive and even insensitive question. Of
course the man wanted to be healed. He's been
there for 38 years waiting for someone to take
him into the pool. So that when the water bubbles,
he could be made well again. I can only imagine
the reaction of this paralytic when Christ asked
that question. However, there is a deeper meaning
involved behind the question that our beloved
Lord asked. I would like to elaborate on the
issue. But as usual, time constraints limits
me to saying that Jesus is suggesting to this
individual that there can be no healing if a
person does not want to be healed. part of any
healing process is the powerful, strong desire
to be healed. Give an illustration. A teacher
can help and challenge a student in not only
in an academic way, but other ways by providing
the student With a good challenge. But the student
has to respond to that challenge if there is
to be growth and maturity. Now the same principle
holds in our relationship to our beloved Lord.
The scriptures tell us that God became man in
Christ to seek and to save. to heal and to forgive.
However, absolutely nothing can ever happen if
one does not respond and reach out to Christ.
Do you recall that scriptural teaching on Zacchaeus?
He took the first step to salvation by desiring
to see Christ. No obstacle stood in his way.
Now we are told by the evangelist Luke that there
were hundreds and hundreds of people who surrounded
Christ, touched Christ. But our Lord only focused
on this one individual sitting up on the sycamore
tree. Christ said to him, Zacchaeus, come down
from the tree. I want to spend an evening with
you. You know the results. You know that he was
changed in that encounter with Christ. He was
changed from head to foot and from foot to head.
He was willing to give half of his stuff away.
The stuff he stole, of course. And if he misappropriated
anything, he would give a fourth of it back.
Now with regard to this whole issue of the paralytic
and suffering and pain and grief and sorrow,
Solzhenitsyn said this, you can give up, you
could give in, or you could go on. But in the
light of the Christian faith, there is more to
this suffering than suffering. It can be destructive.
It can destroy an individual. It can be totally
meaningless. But it could be totally meaningful.
Because behind every cross there follows a resurrection.
Behind every cross. It may not be that clear
to us at the moment. But that's the way God works.
He works through love. The love sometimes we
can't understand. You see, nothing can happen
without faith. Absolutely nothing. The door lock
of our heart is from within. And we can only
open it from within. Not from without. God coerces
no one. So in this unique story of the healing
of the paralytic, Jesus is asking, do you want
to experience the joy of a new life? Then put
away your spiritual doubts. Rise. Look at me.
Live a life of faith. Rise. Quit being paralyzed
by fear. Rise. Get up. Get up of your bed. And
get rid of those worldly and crippled ideas that
the world is promoting. Walk with me in faith.
Love me, serve me, and I will lead you to the
kingdom of God, to everlasting love. Because
if you love me, Jesus said, you'll keep my commandments.
Now back to the question Jesus asked the paralytic.
Do you want to be healed? Yes, he responded.
Of course I do. But I have no one to help me
to get into the pool at the time the water is
troubled. Do you notice Jesus never suggested
he would help him? Get back into the pool. Never.
Jesus said stop looking at the pool and look
at me. Stop wasting your life and waiting for
the right time. The right circumstances. Rise.
Take your eyes off the pool problem. And lift
up your heart. in thanksgiving to God. What do
we hear throughout the year during the liturgy?
As the father pities his children, so the Lord
pities those who love him. The word rise is found
in both today's Gospel reading and in the Epistle.
And in the ninth chapter of the Acts of Apostles,
the Apostle Peter says to a paralytic, Aeneas,
Jesus heals you. Rise up. Take your mat. And
in the same chapter, the same apostle tells to
Tabitha, a woman active in the church who fell
asleep in the Lord. He said, Tabitha, arise.
rise. And she sat up and they gave her something
to eat. And Jesus said to her, paralytic, rise.
Take up your mat and walk. But that's something
he couldn't do for 38 years. But he did it. He
did it. By the power of divine grace, he was
changed. A great and important message is found
in that four -letter word, rise. That word is
filled with dynamis. As the Greeks would say,
dynamite. It expresses the power of the resurrection.
The good news of the gospel is that in Christ,
our Lord tells us, we do not need to carry our
past luggage and burden. Or burdens. Whatever
they may be. Cast them before the cross. Before
the cross. Joy has come into the world. Our Lord
said. I have come. In order that you may have
life. And have it more abundantly. Christ is
risen.