Thank you. Let the mercy of the Lord be upon
us. That he also came down to the saints who
dwelt in Lydda. There he found a certain man
named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight
years and was paralyzed. And Peter said unto
him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes thee whole, arise
and make thy bed. Then immediately he arose,
so all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon. saw him
and turned to the Lord. Now there was at Jaffa
a certain disciple named Tamaka, which by translation
is called Dorcas. This woman was full of good
works and charitable deeds, which she did. But
it happened in those days that she became sick
and died, and when they had washed her, they
laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was
near Jaffa, and the disciples had heard that
Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring
him not to delay in coming to them. Then Peter
arose and went with them, and when he had come,
they brought him to the upper room. And all the
widows stood by him, weeping. showing the clothes
and garments which Dorcas had made while she
was with them. But Peter put them all out and
knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body,
he said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes,
and when she saw Peter, she sat up. Then he gave
her his hand and lifted her up, and when he had
called, The saints and widows he presented her
alive. And it was known the world called Jaffa.
And many believed in the Lord. And thy spirit
was not broken on his head at all. Hallelujah,
hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah. He had, and
a certain man was there which had an infirmity
thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie,
and knew that he had been now a long time in
that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made
whole? The infinite man answered him, Sir, I
have no man, but the water, his troubles would
be in the pool. But what? him, Rise, take up
thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was
made whole, and took up his bed, and walked.
And on the same day was the Sabbath. The Jews
therefore said unto him that was cured, It is
the Sabbath day, it is not lawful for thee to
carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made
me whole, the same said unto me, take up thy
bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man
is that which said unto me, Take up thy bed,
and walk? And he that was healed was not who
it was, for Jesus had conveyed himself away,
a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus
findeth him in the temple, and said unto him,
Behold, thou art made whole, sin no more. lest
a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed
and told the Jews that it was Jesus which had
made him whole. And meaning of the Bible can
be found in these few words. The Word was made
flesh. The Word was made flesh, meaning that
God Himself In the person of Jesus Christ. Revealed
himself. In an ultimate sense. And as Saint Paul
writes. Jesus is the invisible God. The image.
The image of the invisible God. I can never get
over these wonderful incredible joys and uplifting
words that God has become one of us taking on
all our suffering all our sins so that we Can
become like him. We continually sing. Throughout
the liturgical year. God is with us. And it is
in the church. Which is the prolongation of Christ
in this world. So the church is. But the image
of Christ, the very essence of Christ. Now it's
interesting to note that all of the Sunday Gospel
readings from Paschal to Pentecost are taken
from St. John's Gospel. Last week, however, was
an exception. But in all of these readings, Jesus
is variously described and referred to as the
light of the world. Or as Thomas said, my Lord
and my God. And in this morning's gospel, taken
from the fifth chapter of St. John, the evangelist
tells us that Jesus was in Jerusalem. And on
this particular occasion, Jesus passed by the
pool of Bethesda, where he noticed a paralytic.
And Jesus said to him, Do you want to be healed?
That seems like a strange question, doesn't it?
For a man who has been paralyzed for 38 years,
lying on a mat in a hopeless condition, looking
for someone to put him into the pool when the
pool bubbled. But there is a profound reason
Jesus asked that question. Because there can
be no healing if a person does not want to be
healed. Part of the healing process is the burning
desire to be made well. Over the years, I have
heard in confession where an individual acknowledges,
I can't forgive myself. If he can't forgive himself,
there's no healing. Because God was already in
his mysterious way. has healed us, has given
us the opportunity to be made well. When we,
as the Church, pray for the sick and suffering,
we are not asking God to change His mind and
to do something that God Does not want to do.
In prayer. What we are. Seeking to do. Is what.
The great heroes of our faith. The saints. The
fathers of the church. Have been doing for 2
,000 years. Drawing closer to God. who can do
what only God can do for us, to make us whole
persons. And that's what salvation is all about,
making us whole persons. And in prayer, we open
ourselves to his healing presence and say, In
a prayerful way. Come. And abide in us. One father
said. That it is blasphemous to think. That God
does not want us to be well. The scriptures tell
us in various ways. God's will for us is wholeness
and salvation. Unfortunately, for one reason
or other, we hesitate to fulfill God's will.
And that is why it's so important to remember
when saying the Lord's Prayer. Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Thy will be done. Now we don't always understand
the will of God. And no one can ever. Penetrate.
The divine. Mystery of God. But God does seek.
As we know. To heal us. Not in the ways we want
us to be healed. But in the ways that God. Wants
us to be healed. Do you recall the story of Zacchaeus?
He took the first step. Toward health and salvation.
By making a determined. Effort. To seek Christ.
And what did this gentleman do? This so -called
man of Jericho, he climbed up a tree because
he was a short stature and could not see Jesus
because of the crowd. But isn't it absolutely
incredible that of all the people in Jerusalem
who saw Jesus, that day, the Lord focused on
this man up the tree. And he said, come down.
Come down, Zacchaeus. I want to spend the evening
with you. I sincerely and this is based on the
scriptures, that there is more to suffering than
simply suffering. For if we permit the spirit
of despair and anger to darken the purity of
our soul and heart, then the redemptive value
Of suffering. Is lost. How many times. During
the. Year do we hear these words. Through the
cross. Joy. Has come into the world. Behind every
cross. or the cross that we have been given is
the assurance of a resurrection. I don't know
whether I related this story to you on another
occasion, but one Solzhenitsyn was in the gulag
and he began to have negative thoughts about
living. dreadful thoughts. And on occasion they
permitted him to go out into the yard to spend
a few moments. There's a gentleman who happened
to pass by. He had a cane in his hands. Solzhenitsyn
looked at him. And this man, whom Solzhenitsyn
later considered him to be a monk, he drew a
cross, a plate cross on the ground. Solzhenitsyn
returned to his cell with joy. Nothing can happen,
my dear people, nothing, absolutely nothing could
happen without faith in Christ, the divine healer.
It's important to underscore the fact that the
door of our heart can only be opened from within.
Even the infinite and omniscient God Cannot come
into our life if we do not invite him. Now there's
so much more in this story of the miraculous
healing of the paralytic. But I want to, and
I deliberately limit myself to this one passage.
If you want to be well, then put away your doubts.
Rise. Get rid of those worldly and crippled ideas
that this world is promoting. Rise. And this
word rise also appeared in the book of Acts in
today's reading. Rise. Symbolizing the power
of resurrection. You know, when Jesus said to
the paralytic Christ, it was something he could
not do for 38 years. And yet, he heard these
words, picked up his mat, and walked. Glory be
to Jesus Christ. When he heard these words, which
words, incidentally, we hear every Sunday. When
our deacon. Proclaims the gospel. Or whether
the clergy. Offer. A meditation. But somehow.
And for some reason. We don't always hear. These
words. Rise. I have come. That you may have life.
Not death. Because death was destroyed. As sin
was destroyed. You and I are blessed indeed every
Sunday. So be careful. Be alert. Be vigilant.
I know Father Theodore came out two or three
times when the songs were being written because
it was talking. We can't hear the voice of Christ
if we're busy chatting. During the course of
Holy Week. We heard. And some of us were deeply
moved. How Christ himself. The perfect God. The
Theantropos. Walked each other in. Willingly.
Accepted suffering, death, but also resurrection.
So never separate the two. There is physical
healing. But my dear people, there is such a
thing as spiritual healing. Which means... And
we don't always understand it. The Holy Spirit.
Helps us. In our weakness. In the words of Saint
Paul. We know that all things work together for
good to those who love God. Jesus. Is with us.
As a co -sufferer. Now. And he'll be there. When
he welcomes us. Into his kingdom. Glory be. To
our resurrected Christ.