Daily Gospel Reflection for March 13, 2018

Today's Gospel: John 5:1-16 According to tradition, angels caused the water to stir at the Pool of Bethesda, and the first person in the pool would be healed. Imagine both the chaos and excitement generated by a dormant pool suddenly coming to life! The old man couldn’t get into the healing pool of water fast enough so he just waited for some kind of help — probably not expecting Jesus himself! And so he was healed by Jesus’ words, not the swirling pool! The reading reveals that Jesus cured only this man — while allowing others to remain ill, blind, lame or crippled. This understanding forces the ‘why him’ and ‘why not me’ questions. The same questions swirl around in our minds when we pray for help but don’t seem to receive it even while friends’ prayers are answered. This man’s faithful patience ought to be our standard - 38 years of waiting for help! It’s also interesting to wonder why Jesus didn’t use the water to heal the man. Perhaps the pool had turned into just another hot spring for restoring health. The personal healing allowed Jesus to warn the man that sin could bring him much greater harm that he had just experienced. We may be tempted to wonder what could be worse than having an illness as long as he did while awaiting our own healing.