The Living Water

Title: Living Water

Date: March 15, 1988 - Tuesday of the Fourth Week of the Year

Readings: Ezekiel 47:1-9,12 / Psalm 46:2-3,5-6,8-9 / John 5:1-3,5-16

Living just down the street from an American version of Bethesda, we have a constant reminder of this story in the Gospel. The Jewish people had the custom of lowering sick people into this particular pool; tradition had it that the stirring of the waters might bring a healing. This sort of belief is not alien to us. After all, many people today make pilgrimages to places like Lourdes where their hopes for healing are directed. In both cases, the custom was not merely a reflection of crude magic but of a belief in God's power to heal.

Christ reveals in this Gospel today that he is the living water which brings healing. No one was generous enough to lower this lonely man into the pool which he thought might cure him; little did he know that a short command from this stranger Jesus would have him walking.

Interestingly enough, the same lack of self-giving which prevented others from helping this man is later directed against Jesus who heals him. Jesus is criticized for violating the Sabbath. Eventually the man who was healed discovers who Jesus is and is asked to repent from his sins. One has to wonder, even though he knows the name of Jesus, do those to whom he speak really appreciate who this Jesus is? The answer seems no. Instead of thanking God for this healing or recognizing the divine presence in Christ, they begin to plot against him. As mystery writers might say, "the plot thickens." May we always recognize Christ's healing and forgiveness in our midst. May we also be generous enough to help others receive God's blessing and healing in the waters of baptism and in the other sacraments.