Do You Want to be Healed?

~~~ Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12 ~~~ Psalm 46 ~~~ John 5:1-16 ~~~

An angel brought Ezekiel to witness the rising waters.
The waters became deeper and deeper until
swimming was the only way to cross.

He sat on the edge of the water and saw life
 bursting forth all around him.

These rising waters birthed life...

Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature 
that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes 
the sea shall be made fresh.

...shall be made fresh...
in Baptism we too are made fresh in the pouring of the water.

Jesus speaks to the crippled man who has been sitting
on the edge of the bubbling pool of water for many years.

The sick would congregate around this pool of water.
The water had healed others but today Jesus calls
out to the man.

“Do you want to be well?”

What a silly question to ask a man who has
been crippled for so many years.

Maybe, for some reason the man was resigned to his infirmity.
He had lost all hope of reaching the waters in time.

“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.”

If we wait for someone else to help us we may
trap ourselves into a place where we do not want to remain.

This man looked up into the eyes of Jesus
as if to say 'will you put me into the water' since you are here.

Jesus demonstrates to the man his own hidden energy...

 “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”

Jesus saw the desire for healing in his heart.
Jesus is the fresh healing water.
Jesus is the Living Water.

This healing took place on the Sabbath.
The Jews observed strict rules for keeping holy the Sabbath
and 'work' was not allowed.

Jesus should not have healed.
The healed man should not have carried his mat.

Where should our priority lie?
When is it better to break a law than
 to blindly adhere to one?

Is it more important to help another than
to follow the letter of the law?

Jesus makes it very clear...
loving your neighbor is above strict observance of the law.

Jesus acts from a level much deeper than the law.
Jesus sees beyond the law.
The law keeps one from seeing the bigger picture.

If Ezekiel had been fearful of the rising waters
he may never have seen the resulting life and beauty.

Today ask yourself...
Do you want to be healed?
Create in me a clean heart, O Lord.

Blessings of healing.
~~~Peace~~~
Saint Patrick, pray for us.

We Are the Lost Boys and Girls

 

~~~ Ezekiel 37:21-28  ~~~ Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12abcd, 13 ~~~ John11:45-56 ~~~

 

 

Since the time of Ezekiel, God had a strong desire

for all the divisions among the people to be resolved.

God wanted the people to see what a waste it was for them

 to worship their idols of metal.

God has plans to deliver the people and to cleanse them of their sins.

God just wanted all his people to be one big happy family,

but it did not happen that way in the end.

 

So God sends down his son, Jesus, to implement his grand unity plan.

It is the same today when someone from the outside comes into an establishment

and begins to make radical changes.

Everyone else just watches shaking their heads in disbelief.

Let's face it Jesus was an outsider and he was stirring things up.

 

The Jews were getting nervous.

Their fears took control of their minds.

 Their ability to reason and understand things became greatly diminished.

When you are under stress your mental capacity is hampered. 

So the Jews began to meet and plot in small groups.

They discussed their plan of action to protect their interest.

 

If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,
and the Romans will come
and take away both our land and our nation.”

Fear...Fear...Fear...

Terror on every side in their opinion.

 

Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year...

was the only person of authority who came close

to understanding what Jesus was doing,

and what his death was going to accomplish.

 

...he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation,
but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
So from that day on they planned to kill him.



Jesus fled the area but still attended

amid the doubts that he would be a 'no show'.

By now Jesus must know the time is drawing near.

The tension was building to loud crescendo.

The cymbals were poised to be clashed together.

 

 

All that God wanted for his people became impossible

without the death of his son, Jesus.

Nothing that Jesus did really the Jews yet they let their fears

take over their reasoning ability.

They reverted to acting out of self preservation.

 

Indeed Jesus did die for a nation, but it did not stop there.

His death was for all of eternity.

Dear Lord, help me to appreciate what you have done for me...

especially when I gaze upon your crucifix.

Amen.

Rising Waters

 ~~~ Ezekiel 47: 1-9, 12 ~~~ Psalm 46 ~~~ John 5:1-16 ~~~

 

 

Living along the coast, I have learned the real danger of flash flooding.

When the water begins to rise you often do not

have the time to evacuate.

The quickly rising water can pose a life threatening

danger in a matter of minutes.

 

Ezekiel is being led little be little, step by step
 into deeper and deeper waters.

An angel is leading the prophet on this journey,

but his anxiety level was surely increasing.

 

The water was flowing out of the temple.

It was not like walking into a river or a stream.

The water was rising.

With each step the water goes from ankle deep to waist deep;

clearly it was getting deeper.

 

Until finally the water was so deep Ezekiel had to swim.

It was the angel that brought him safely to the bank of the river.

 

This is water imbued with power from God.

This water is rich with life producing qualities.

This water has the power to change salt water into fresh water.

This water flows right from God himself.

The giver of life created this water to continue his creative life giving quality.

Now God uses this water as a sign of his ability

to bring forth new and abundant life.

The power of God remains with us...he is in the water...

thus it is the living water.

 

 

When the essence of God is present one does not need

to enter into the water to be healed.

The desire of the heart makes the healing possible.

 

"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.”

 

The desire to be healed was burning inside of this man.

Jesus answered the silent prayer of the man to be healed.

Jesus proved to this man, who had been ill for thirty eight years,

healing is possible even on the Sabbath.

 

What desires are in your heart that you have yet to verbalize?

Just the act of carrying your bed roll was a violation of the Sabbath

 much less healing a person in front of the enforcers of the law. 

 

This was once again too much blasphemy for the Jews.

They believed the observing the law was the most important one could do.