From the holy Gospel according to
John Chapter 5, verses 1 to 16
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| THE HEALING OF THE PARALYTIC. Image from francisxaviersamsen.wordpress.com |
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be well?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk." Immediately, the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that was a sabbath.
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After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, "Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you." The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who made him well. Therefore the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath. [5-9, 14 - 16]
Personal Reflection on the Reading
"I have no one to put me into the pool."
This is the problem of many people today. Even if they would like to receive Christ into their lives, they cannot do so because of some hindrances in life and no one would help them get closer to God and to the Lord. While they feel the stirring of the Spirit, no one helps them understand this movement in their hearts and they fail to recognize the Lord's presence and invitation.
To love one another includes the mission to lead others to the Lord and leading people to know, believe in and love the Lord also means helping them overcome the hindrances of life. It is not enough to proclaim the Gospel through words, we also have to proclaim the Gospel through action. Look at the Lord Jesus Christ, He did not only tell the paralytic to be able to walk - He had cured Him of His paralysis too. As the Apostle James also said, it is not enough to tell a person who is naked and hungry to "keep warm and eat well" without providing that person some clothing and food [see James 2: 14-16].
We are not required to provide other people with their daily sustenance just to be able to convert them into the faith. It is not healthy to entice people to join the Church by providing them all that they need in order to survive. But we may provide opportunities for them to stand up on their own feet. Also, we must never forget that when we lead others to Christ we must lead them through the straight path of holiness and avoid misleading them along a crooked path which could lead to something worse. We must not be like the scribes and the Pharisees who seek people to convert but make these converts worse than them [see Matthew 23:15].
Let us show others that we are friends of the Lord by helping them know Him better so that they may believe Him with conviction and love Him with their whole being. But we must have the capacity to help them and we can have that capacity by meditating daily on the Lord's life because only through this that we can truly know our Lord, our God and our Friend!
Sharing for the Day
Application of the Message
[1] Prayer
Pray for the readiness to help others know, believe in and love the Lord so that you may be able to inspire others to accept His call to Holy Friendship.
[2] Abstinence
Abstain from something that keeps you from helping others know, believe in and love the Lord.
[3] Almsgiving
What can you materially share so that you may inspire others to help others to know, believe in and love the Lord Jesus Christ?
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