Scripture:
Reflection:
Twice I’ve stood close to the power and majesty of large waterfalls—at Niagara Falls and in the Colorado mountains. I vividly remember the enormous volume and thundering sounds of the cascading waters. Water has center stage in today’s readings, much quieter than my experience with the waterfalls but more powerful.
Ezekiel, while being led by an angel around the four sides of the temple, witnesses an increasing flow of water, first as a trickle and ultimately as a deep river flowing to the Dead Sea. He sees an abundant, life-giving, never-ending flow of water bringing life and healing to the sea and river banks. In this reading, water is a metaphor for God’s gift of grace to creation.
Jesus is visiting the temple and encounters a man lying by the pool of Bethesda. Jewish tradition speaks of an angel stirring the water once a year. The first person who touches the water will be healed of their illness. Jesus asks the man if he wants to be healed, but the man answers that he has no one to carry him to the pool. Jesus immediately heals him and disappears into the crowd. The following day Jesus finds the man in the temple and tells him, “Look, you are well; do not sin any more so that nothing worse may happen to you.”
Jesus teaches us two important lessons from his encounter with the sick man. We do not need to be carried to the pool for healing. God’s grace is freely given to us without anyone’s assistance and without any conditions that must be met to receive it. The second lesson is we must lead grace-filled lives. Jesus’ command is that we do not sin anymore. However narrowly or broadly you define sin, we must follow Jesus’ teaching to love God and our neighbor. By following this Gospel message, we will flourish from the life-giving, never-ending flow of God’s grace.
Mike Owens is coordinator of the Passionist Alumni Association and a member of the Migration Commission of Holy Cross Province. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.