You have that March cough again this year. Bummer! But it tells me you're here, you're breathing, you're continuing. Good .... At times it seems to rip your ribs, as you put your hands to your chest. It seems to wince your face as well. I see the stress and strain on your jaw and chin. Cough .... Uh .... Cough .... Aaaah..... Cough .... Uhhhh .... Cough .... Aaaaaah ....
“Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity.”
Frank Leary, Look, January 10,
1955
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
THE THIRD SIGN:
THE HEALING OF THE PARALYZED MAN
AT THE POOL AT BETHESDA
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 4th Tuesday in
Lent is, “The 3rd Sign: The Healing of the Paralyzed Man at The Pool at Bethesda.”
As you know John gives us 7 signs, 7 special miracles. in
his gospel.
Yesterday we had the 2nd sign, the Healing of
the Royal Official’s Son and yesterday’s gospel also mentions the first sign:
Cana, where Jesus changed water into
wine..
Today, let’s concentrate on this 3rd sign in
John: the healing of the paralyzed man at the pool ofBethesda.
38 YEARS
It’s an amazing story: the man has been ill for 38 years.
And Jesus asks him a key question: “Do you want to be
well?”
Before that question, I began wondering, “Does anyone
have a sickness or a problem that lasts for a long time - like 38 years?”
I remember hearing someone say of a relative, “She talks
too much.”
I never noticed that before - but every time after that -
I began to notice she talks too much - giving comments on every subject that
comes up.”
Is that two problems: telling or making comments about
others - and second, talking too much?
38 years is a long time.
Do we all have our lifetime patterns or problems - some
of which paralyze us at times?
Like overeating - or drinking too much.
I pick raised skin - usually on my lower arms.How long have I been doing that?Sometimes someone seeing that says, “Stop
picking!”
Wondering was I doing that in my high chair as a kid
after finishing my Cheerios.
I hear someone say of someone, “She’s been picking on her
sister all her life - especially giving her sister diets or making comments
about her behind her back - forever.”
Could someone be an alcoholic or a picker or jealous or
feel inferior for 38 years or 58 years or moreof course?
I knew a guy who was born deaf - and at 24 he got a
procedure that helped him hear various sounds - and wow did his face become
different.He had to wear a devise at
his hip and a wire in his ear - but he began to hear - and then laugh and his
face became an ongoing smile.
I heard a psychologist say once: “The earlier the
problem, the bigger problem.”
Do we all have lifetime deafness in someareas of our life?
Is the oldest, the youngest, the middle child, different
because of where they are in the family tree?Are we different for 38 years or 68 years of life because of what was
going on in our family at a certain time of our life?Is a brother or sister different because they
had or had not the benefit of a grandfather or grandmother - and then she or he
died or moved or what have you?
Could a mistake or something someone said or how one is
treated paralyze a person for 38 years?
Can a death kill us.
CAN I BE HEALED
- UNPARALYZED?
Today’s first reading is flooded with water.Jesus said he was living water.
Could / can I be flooded, Niagara Falls washed, healed,
by the flood waters of God and begin to produce fruit on all sides of my life -
as today’s reading from Ezechielputs
it.
SHAWSHANK
REDEMPTION
Don’t you love those two scenes near the end of the movie, The Shawshank Redemptionwhen Andy
Fresnene escapes through thewater pipes - sewer pipes of water - and
finally comes out free - baptized - in the waters - in the rain - and he raises
his arms in salvation - and freedom - and freedom.and then you see Andy Fresnene
at the vast ocean - in the sunshine freed.
This man in today’s gospel who is sick for 38 years
experiences the ocean - the living water - ofGod that day.
Something to think about today - and whenever you take a
shower or a bath or go to the ocean or a pool.
March 13, 2018
Thought for today:
“Voting is a civic sacrament.”
Theodore M. Hesburgh, Reader’s
Digest, October 1984
March 13, 2018
WATER
The earth is almost 80% water ….
Rain …. A morning shower ….
A drink of cold water on a hot day ….
Lake Superior …. Lake Erie ….
The Mississippi and the Hudson Rivers ….
The Aral Sea and the Salton Sea ….
Water, water. everywhere with lots
and lots of drops of water to drink ….
So why Lord, did your people spend
40 years in the dessert and why Lord
did you spend 40 days in the dessert
and why did you ask us to spend 40
days of Lent in the dessert when we can get in the car and get ourselves
The title of my homily for this Fourth Monday in Lent is, “A Request.”
If you heard Jesus was nearby, and you could approach
him, and make one request what would it be?
It’s like the old, “You got one wish” stories.
If you had one wish or one request, what would it be?
MAKE A LIST
Don’t blurt out your immediate response. Take your time.
Make a list.
Be like a kid standing in an ice cream store - and all
those flavors are in those big round containers - right in front of you -
behind glass. Pick one.
FOR FAMILY,
FRIENDS, OR WORLD
What would be your request?
The royal official from Capernaum - comes to Cana - where
Jesus was and asks Jesus to heal his son - who was near death.
And Jesus heals the royal official’s son from a distance.
And the gospel of John for today says, “Now this was the second
sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.” [Cf. John 4: 43-54]
I don’t know what I would ask for - if I had one request.
For beginners, I would pick some family stuff where
people are not talking to people.
Then again, there are people with cancer, who asked for
prayers - for healing. But why not pray
for those doing cancer studies so a lot of people will be healed?
I think of one of our priests, Father Dennis Billy, who
had bad cancer a few years back - but is doing very well - is teaching, giving talks, writing books and is doing good priestly
stuff.
I prayed for him and a bunch of people like my niece
Margie who is in remission from her cancer.
Or should I pray for so and so that he wake up and
change? How does that work?
WHAT ABOUT THE
ACTION SIDE - THE WORK SIDE OF PRAYER?
One of my favorite sayings is, “Pray for potatoes - but
pick up a shovel.”
The royal official got in his chariot or however he got
to Cana - to make the request in person.
Today’s first reading from Isaiah 65: 17-21 has the Lord
talking about creating a new heavens and a new earth.
That triggered the Woody Allen joke comment: “God created
the world, except certain parts of New Jersey”
Aren’t we making God’s prayer come true if we do our part
to make our world beautiful. I know I have always been nudged by Buckmister
Fuller’s comment: “Whenever you use a public bathroom, make it cleaner than
when you walked in.” I know I have been
doing that ever since. Fuller’s comment
always triggers the Golden Rule. I like
a clean stall and sink in a bathroom - so why not make it happen for the next
person? I can do that - and wash my
hands afterwards.
CONCLUSION
So that’s my homily. Make a wish. Make a request. Make a prayer. Then pick up a shovel and start digging. !
