The pool at Bethesda is located just outside the city walls of Jerusalem. The pool was originally built to supply water for the Temple, but during Jesus' lifetime, the pool no longer served this function. By Jesus’ day, the pool had acquired a reputation for healing qualities. Jesus singles out one man from the many people who are gathered at the pool to be healed. This man acknowledges that he has no one to put him in the pool, a direct admission that there are no family or friends there to help him. Perhaps it is difficult for us to imagine how this afflicted man would survive there very long by himself without anyone to help him. This man did not know that it was Jesus talking to him, so he obviously did not anticipate being healed by Jesus. Although the man expects to be cured by the waters of the pool, Jesus by-passes the pool altogether and cures him directly. Unlike some other healings Jesus performs in the New Testament Gospels, Jesus doesn’t link the healing of this man with his faith. Rather, Jesus cures him because he needs and desires healing. The cure that happens in this Gospel passage has a very reassuring and positive message to all of us as we continue our Lenten journey. The man is cured, he is saved, because he merely wanted to be well.
The holy season of Lent is an opportunity for all of us to grow closer to Jesus and to contemplate the great love God shows us through his beloved Son. May our Lenten prayer today be that we may recognize the opportunities that Jesus extends to us every day. May we use the gifts given to us to bring life and abundance to our daily lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment