In today’s Gospel (John 5:1-16), we have a man with some unknown illness hoping to get into the “Bethesda” pool near the Sheep Gate into the city of Jerusalem. This guy wasn’t just looking for a nice dip in the pool, though. This pool was a center for healing. Pilgrims to the pool waited for “the moving of the waters.” Periodically, there would be some disturbance in the pool, perhaps some bubbling up from an intermittent spring. The pilgrims waited for this stirring of the waters, which they believed was caused by the angel of God touching the pool. They huddled around the pool to be the first in after the stirring occurred because frequently the first in would be healed of what was afflicting them.
You can imagine why this man would want in—he had been ill for 38 years. Now 38 years is significant, not just because it shows that this guy has been ill for a very long time, but because it recalls the 38 years that Moses and the Israelites spent in the desert. As is often forgotten, the exodus from Egypt to the promised land actually took only 2 years, not 40. Let me recap what happened before you shout “heresy” on me. After two years of travel from Egypt to the land of Canaan (the promised land) the people discovered that Canaan was already occupied, and they did not believe that God would give them the power to conquer the Canaanites. They did not trust God. So they were condemned to spend an additional 38 years in the desert, until that entire unbelieving generation had died, before the Israelites could return and hopefully by this point be able to trust God enough to enter into the promised land. That is how they spent 40 years total in the desert before they actually entered.
So, we have a man who has been ill for 38 years desperately hoping to be healed by entering this pool. But he says that he cannot ever get into the water first, because every time he tries, someone steps ahead of him. This man was trying to enter into this pool, like the Israelites had tried to enter into the promised land, by his/their own power. For 38 years he has wandered a spiritual desert, hoping to be healed, but was unwilling to rely upon God. He’s stuck right in front of the pool, within reach of being healed, but he cannot cross that threshold by his own efforts.
He is healed only when Jesus acts in his life. Through the words of Jesus, by God’s action, he is healed; not by his own power.
It can be really hard to truly trust God—to believe that God wants to work wonders in our lives and transform us! Perhaps during this Lenten season, you have felt the push: you think that God may be asking you to take the next step, to do something that you are afraid to do, to step out of your comfort zone. Maybe you’ve been thinking you should be doing something more to help out in the parish. Maybe you’ve been putting off talking to someone with whom you have been angry. Maybe you’ve wanted to give more money to the poor, perhaps through the Order of St. John Paul II, but you’re afraid you can’t afford it. Maybe you’ve been afraid to confess a particular sin because you are afraid of what the priest might think of you. Whatever it may be, take the leap! Trust that God will help you conquer your personal Canaanites! Even if you think you can’t do it, that’s fine. That’s precisely what God may be telling you: you can’t. BUT GOD CAN! Take whatever is on your heart to prayer and beg the Lord to help you. Ask Him! That’s what He wants! Beg him to free you from your 38 years in the desert. Be persistent in your prayer. You could be standing now at the threshold of change in your life, of doing God’s will, but God is the only one who has the power to get you there. Don’t try to do it on your own or you’ll forever be stuck in the desert. Maybe now is the time to hand it over to God, and say, “Jesus, I trust in you”.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!