Homily: Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent (John 5:1-16) “Do We Want Healing?”
We have a cycle of readings that we use during the liturgical year. The cycle is three years long. Each year we concentrate on one of the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. We might ask why John is not part of the rotation. John is read during special seasons of the year. For instance, John is read from extensively during the Lenten-Easter cycle of readings. The first half of Lent we read from the Synoptic Gospels. The second half of Lent we read from the Gospel of John each day.
John’s stories are usually different than the Synoptic Gospels. The first three gospels seem to unfold over a three-year period. The events in John seem to happen over a year’s time. In the synoptic gospels it seems like Jesus goes to Jerusalem at the beginning and end of his life. In the Gospel of John, he moves in and out of Jerusalem several times.
Yesterday, we started reading from the Gospel of John. Today we continue with the story of the paralyzed man who is laying at the pool by the Sheep Gate. The pool was called Bethesda. The water of the pool was believed to have healing properties. The pool was fed by an underground stream. Every so often the water would bubble as new water came into the pool. It was thought that the first person into the pool would receive healing.
For thirty-eight years the man waited to be the first into the pool. No one helped him or he asked no one to. Somehow it seems strange that nobody took pity on the man in all that time. One must wonder if the man had settled into his life as an invalid and he was fearful of what walking might mean. Perhaps that is why Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be healed.
When we read this story, we can ask if there are bad habits and relationships and other maladies that we have adapted to. Do we want to change our lives? Change is hard. It takes effort and it leads to new circumstances we have do adapt to. Are we seeking change as Lent moves forward?
Reflection Questions:
- What am I seeking to change about myself in Lent? How successful have I been?
- If I have failed, is it because I am reluctant to live life differently? What can I do about this?
Dear Parishioners,
We all would like to help Ukraine. I have had people ask me about taking up special collections for Ukraine. I tell them we are. Some of these people appear shocked. We announced that the collection on Ash Wednesday was going to the churches of Eastern Europe. We had a nice collection we sent into the diocese and that money was sent on through channels to Eastern Europe. When the fighting ends many churches are going to have to be rebuilt.
We are presently taking up the Rice Bowl Collection. People are asked to put their donations in the Rice Bowl during the six weeks of Lent. During Holy Week we will gather these monies and send them to Catholic Relief Services.
Catholic Relief Services is part of a web of Catholic charities throughout the world that feed into one organization called Caritas. If we have been watching our televisions or listening to the radio concerning events in Ukraine and relating care of the refugees Caritas workers are mentioned often. The money is getting to where it needs to go and is helping people who are in the greatest need. In a crisis it is best to work through reputable organizations and not go about collecting money with no plan on where the money should go. This is a recipe for a lot of controversy.
If one wants to give directly to Ukraine all one must do is to do a WEB search for Caritas. A site has been set up to collect donations and there is a tab marked Ukraine. I would ask anyone reading this information to pass it on. We have said most of this in church and it has been in the bulletin. Many times, people have ears to hear but they don’t hear and eyes to see but they choose not to. Someone named Jesus said that once. The worldwide church is giving millions of dollars to Ukraine and will continue to do so. The church does a lot of things wrong, but it also does a lot right.
May Our Lady of Peace intercede for the world.
Fr. Mark