Daily Word Of God
John 5:1-3a, 5-9, 16
There was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now at the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem there is a building called Bethzatha in Hebrew, consisting of five porticos; and under these were crowds of sick people, blind, lame, paralysed
One man there had an illness which had lasted thirty-eight years, and when Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had been in that condition for a long time, he said, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ ‘Sir,’ replied the sick man, ‘I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone else gets down there before me.’
Jesus said, ‘Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk.’ The man was cured at once, and he picked up his mat and walked away. Now that day happened to be the Sabbath. It was because he did things like this on the Sabbath that the Jews began to persecute Jesus.
Today's Pointers on God's Word
As you read the passage what words, phases or meanings caught your attention?
- In today’s Gospel Jesus reaches out to that man who has been disabled or crippled for thirty-eight years. This shows us that the more desperate we are, the more loving and compassionate God will be to us.
- Jesus is also asking us today, “Do you want to be well again?” The “wellness” that Jesus offers is not only to be cured of our illnesses, but also more importantly to be freed of our bondage to our sinful attitudes and behaviours.
- Ponder on this invitation of Jesus to be truly converted and to live a life that He Himself has shown us. Miracles can happen when we say “Yes” and open our hearts to trust in His divine power to give us the best.