Homily: Fourth Tuesday of Lent

Fourth Tuesday of Lent (John 5:1-16) “Do I Want to Be Well?”

At the halfway point of Lent we shift from reading the synoptic Gospels to reading exclusively from the Gospel of John. John has a different emphasis than Matthew, Mark and Luke. Some of the details of the gospel are also not the same. Stories are presented in John that are not told in any of the other gospels. At least they are not told in the same way.

We begin our cycle of readings from John with a story about a paralytic who is cured. One thing that we notice about the Gospel of John is that Jesus is going to Jerusalem often. In the other Gospels Jesus seems to go to Jerusalem as an adult on one occasion. The second half of these narratives is all about Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. In John, again, Jesus seems to go to Jerusalem, not just for one Passover, but for other major religious feasts as well. The story we read at Mass today says, “There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up…”

Most of us are probably unfamiliar with the Sheep Gate pool. The Sheep Gate was the gate that the sheep were herded through on their way to the temple to be sacrificed. It has been thought that the pool by this gate was used to wash the sheep, but this is highly unlikely since the pool was used as a source of drinking water.

It seems there were two pools and water was diverted from one to the other. The Romans may have had a pool near by that they used for a public bath. Water was thought to have healing qualities. The name Bethesda means house of mercy. The man who sits by the pool, as the Gospel says, is supposedly looking for healing.

When fresh water came into the pool there was a stirring of the water. At that moment, it was thought that pool had its maximum healing effect. The paralytic says he cannot get into the pool because no one will help him. He might be paralyzed as much by fear as by his physical limitations. Could he be afraid of how health might change his life? Often, we get used to living with physical maladies and mental problems and we “learn” to live with them. We can’t imagine how things can be different. Jesus pulls the man out of his misery. Could he do the same for us?

Reflection Questions:

1.    Is there something unhealthy in my life? Do I fear changing this?

2.   Have I ever compared the Gospel of John to the other Gospels? Might I do that this Lent?

 Dear Parishioners,

           Remember that this Wednesday the youth of our parish will be presenting a living Stations of the Cross. The students will use light and shadows to make this presentation. I have seen them putting in a lot of practice so they can portray the last hours of Jesus’ life. It would be nice if we had a group of people to pray with them. The Stations will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the church. Come and join us.

          Remember that on the Wednesdays of Lent we are also celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation from 5 to 5:30 p.m. We will be using the new Reconciliation Room in the Parish Gathering Center.

          May St. Joseph pray for us this week,

          Fr. Mark