38 YEARS

INTRODUCTION

The title of this homily for the 4th Tuesday of Lent is, “38 Years.”

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s readings – Gospel and First Reading – talk about water – water – water – lots of water.

In today’s first reading from Ezekiel 47, we can hear and sense the sound and taste of water – lots of water – in the temple area first as the water rises up to Ezekiel’s ankles, then up to his knees, then his waist – then the water become much deeper. The trickle had become a river – the river flows down to the sea – turning salt water into fresh water. And the river of water brings irrigation to the many fruit trees along the way. It’s a great description of the power and gift of water.

And in the gospel we hear about the pool of water at Bethesda in Jerusalem that was a healing pool. And in this story in the Gospel of John about a healing pool of water we hear that there was a long number of ill, blind, lame and crippled people sitting there in the waters waiting to be healed by the waters.

It reminds me of Lourdes – where the blind, the lame, the sick and the struggling – go to be healed in the waters.

38 YEARS

But what grabbed me last night as I prepared this homily was the comment “38 years.” That’s a long time. That’s a lifetime or half a lifetime for some folks. Could someone wait that long for a healing?

There are people who have waited that long for a healing with regards a porn addiction or a gambling addiction or an eating addiction or what have you. Or it could be waiting for another to change – to be healed – for 38 years.

There are people who had an affair or an abortion or stole something 38 years ago – and they still feel crippled by their mistake.

There are people who can’t forgive a parent or a brother or sister – often it’s a close family member – for a deep, deep hurt.

How long does it take to forgive another?

How long does it take to experience forgiveness – to allow forgiveness to wash over us – as today’s two readings talk about healing – from the waters?

Would it take 38 years of standing under Niagara Falls and let all that water wash over us?

I think of rocks in streams that are round and smooth and easy to walk on – compared to jagged rocks that have just rolled into a river.

I think of the rocks at the beach that have been pounded for the longest time – and they slowly, very slowly, become a bit smoother.

Forgiveness – the removal of the rough cutting edges of a bad memory can take a long time. Notice I didn’t say forgetting a memory. That’s dementia. And us older folk know our long term memory is better than our short term memory. We hide from story repeaters.

Priests, therapists, friends, family can tell us for 38 years to let it go – but people can hold onto some hurts because they want the guilty party to squirm and cringe and crawl for 38 years – or we do the same thing to ourselves for our stupidity. Everyone who reads scripture knows David’s line, “My sin is ever before me.”

I remember hearing a psychiatrist tell the story of two sisters. One of them always brought up to her other sister something that sister had done to hurt her 83 years ago. 83! That’s a dyslectic 38. Either number is a long, long time.

CONCLUSION

Today if you hear his voice, harden not your heart.

Today as you leave this church take the Holy Water slowly and let Christ heal you deeply by the sign of the Cross – in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.