First Reading (Ezekiel 47,1-9.12)
Reading of Ezekiel’s Prophecy.
In those days, the angel made me go back to the entrance of the Temple and behold, water was coming out of its underground part in the east direction, because the Temple was facing the east; the water ran on the right side of the Temple, south of the altar. He made me go out through the door that faces north, and made me walk around outside, to the door that faces east, where I saw the water gushing out on the right side. When the man went out towards the east, with a measuring rope in his hand, he measured five hundred meters and made me cross the water: it reached my ankles. He measured another five hundred meters and made me cross the water: it reached my knees. He measured another five hundred meters and made me cross the water: it came up to my waist. It measured another five hundred meters, and it was a river I couldn’t cross. Because the waters had grown so much that they became a river impossible to cross, except by swimming. He said to me, “Have you seen, son of man?” Then he made me walk back along the riverbank. Returning, I saw many trees along the bank, on both sides of the river. Then he said to me: “These waters flow towards the eastern region, they go down to the Jordan Valley, they flow into the salty waters of the sea, and they will become healthy. Wherever the river reaches, all the animals that move there will be able to live. There will be fish in abundance, for the waters that bring health flow there; and there will be life wherever the river reaches. On the banks next to the river, on both sides, all kinds of fruit trees will grow; their leaves will not wither and their fruit they will never run out: each month they will bear new fruit, because the waters that bathe the trees come out of the sanctuary. Their fruits will serve as food and their leaves will be medicine.”
– Word of the Lord.
– Thank God.
Gospel (John 5:1-16)
Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John.
— Glory to you, Lord.
There was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went to Jerusalem. There is in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, a pool with five porticoes, called Bethesda in Hebrew. Many sick people were lying there — blind, lame and paralyzed —. In fact, an angel would come down, from time to time, and move the water in the pool, and the first sick person who entered there, after the water bubbled, was cured of whatever illness he had. There was a man there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw the man lying down and knowing that he had been sick for so long, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The patient replied: “Sir, I don’t have anyone to take me to the pool when the water is rough. When I’m getting there, someone else gets in front of me.” Jesus said, “Get up, pick up your bed and walk.” At the same moment, the man was cured, picked up his bed and began to walk. Now, that day was a Saturday. Therefore, the Jews said to the man who had been healed: “It is the Sabbath! It is not permitted for you to carry your bed.” He answered them, “He who healed me said, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’ Then they asked him, “Who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk?’ ” The man who had been healed did not know who it was, because Jesus had moved away from the crowd that was in that place. Later, Jesus met the man in the Temple and said to him, “Behold, you are healed. Do not sin again, lest a worse thing happen to you.” Then the man went out and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus, because he did such things on the Sabbath.
— Word of Salvation.
— Glory to you, Lord.
Reflecting the Word of God
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Imagine an arid desert, where the cracked earth begs for a drop of water. Suddenly, a trickle of water appears from a rock, gradually growing in volume until it becomes a raging river. Wherever it passes, this river transforms the desolate landscape: trees bloom on its banks, animals come closer to quench their thirst, and life appears abundantly where there was only death before. This powerful image of transformation and renewal is at the heart of the readings we meditate on today.
In the first reading, the prophet Ezekiel presents us with an extraordinary vision. Led by a mysterious man, Ezekiel observes water gushing from the temple, flowing east. At first it is just a trickle, but it quickly becomes a creek and finally a river so deep that it cannot be crossed on foot. “Wherever this river passes,” says the man to Ezekiel, “everything comes to life.”
What a powerful image! The water that flows from God’s sanctuary is not just any water. It is water that transforms, that restores, that brings abundant life. On the banks of this river, fruit trees grow, producing fruit all year round, “because its waters flow out of the sanctuary.” And the fruits serve as food, while their leaves have healing power.
This vision of Ezekiel is not just a beautiful metaphor; it is a prophetic promise. It is a glimpse of the transforming power of God’s grace, which flows from His sanctuary to renew and restore all creation.
And it is exactly this promise that we see fulfilled, in a tangible and personal way, in today’s Gospel. In Jerusalem, by the pool of Bethesda, a man had been waiting for thirty-eight years for his cure. Thirty-eight years! Imagine the depth of this suffering, the persistence of this hope.
The pool of Bethesda was a place of expectation. Tradition said that, periodically, an angel would descend and stir the waters, and the first to enter after this agitation would be healed. But this man, limited by his condition, never managed to get there first. “Lord,” he says to Jesus, “I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is stirred.”
It is interesting to note that Jesus does not stir the waters for this man. He doesn’t need to. Jesus is the very source of the living water that Ezekiel saw flowing from the temple. In Jesus, the living temple of God, healing grace flows directly to those who need it most.
“Get up,” says Jesus to the man, “take up your mat and walk.” And immediately – mind you, immediately – the man was healed. Thirty-eight years of waiting, of frustration, of pain, of limitation, resolved in an instant by the power of the word of Christ.
These two readings together present us with a profound truth about our spiritual journey. We are all, in a sense, like that man by the pool. We are paralyzed by our wounds, our fears, our sins. We wait for healing, for liberation, for transformation. And often, like that man, we feel like we “have no one” to help us achieve this healing.
But the good news is that Jesus comes to us. He doesn’t wait for us to crawl to Him. He meets us right where we are, in our helplessness, in our need. And His word has the power to transform us, to lift us up, to make us walk in a new life.
This is the reality of God’s grace – like Ezekiel’s river, it flows from the sanctuary, from the very heart of God, to bring life where there is death, healing where there is wound, hope where there is despair.
But there is another aspect of these readings that we cannot ignore. After healing the man, Jesus meets him again in the temple and says to him: “See, you are healed. Sin no more, lest something worse happen to you.”
These words may sound harsh at first glance, but they contain an important truth. The physical healing that Jesus offered was a sign of the deeper, spiritual healing that He desired for this man. Jesus doesn’t just want us to be free from our physical afflictions; He wants us to be free from sin, from separation from God, which is the root of all suffering.
And here we return to the image of Ezekiel’s river. Notice how the river not only brings life, but also “makes the waters salty” – that is, it purifies what is impure. The waters of God’s grace not only heal; they also purify, sanctify, transform our deepest nature.
This dual action of grace – healing and sanctification – is central to our Christian faith. God not only frees us from the consequences of sin; He frees us from sin itself. He not only alleviates our suffering; He transforms our nature so that we can live in harmony with His will.
My dear brothers and sisters, where are you today? Are you like that man by the pool, waiting for healing, for transformation? Maybe you are struggling with a physical illness, or an emotional wound, or a destructive behavior pattern. Maybe you’ve waited so long that you’ve started to lose hope.
Hear the good news: Jesus is here, now, asking you, “Do you want to be healed?” He sees your need, knows your pain, understands your struggle. And He has the power to speak a word that will transform your life.
Or perhaps you have already experienced the healing power of Christ. You were touched by the waters of grace, stood up and began to walk in a new life. If that’s the case, remember Jesus’ words: “Sin no more.” God’s grace is not just a medicine for our wounds; it is a call to a transformed life.
Like those trees planted on the banks of Ezekiel’s river, we are called to bear fruit – fruits of love, of justice, of peace, of kindness. And just as the leaves of those trees had healing power, our lives, transformed by grace, should bring healing and hope to a hurting world.
May the living waters that flow from the temple of God, from the very heart of Christ, flow in and through us today. May we experience the healing and purifying power of grace. And that, like that healed man, we get up, pick up our stretcher – what kept us paralyzed – and walk in a new life, a life of gratitude, obedience and loving service.
Amen.
