Sunday, May 22, 2005 (Tone 3)
CHRIST IS RISEN!
The Sunday of the Paralytic
Kellia: Deuteronomy 2:24-37 Apostle: Acts 9:32-42 Gospel: St. John 5:1-15
St. John 5:1-15, especially vs. 14: "...See you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing
come upon you." In the course of readings, this passage stands apart from the rest of chapter five from St. John's Gospel;
for the Spirit led the Church to place this account on a Sunday to draw our attention to the relationship between healing and
the Resurrection. In the healing of the paralytic, we are called to glorify our risen Savior, the Life-Giver, Who restores us
to wholeness. This passage celebrates the Lord Jesus' healing, His boundless mercy, and all that He gives to those who are
raised with Him to the new life.
"Jesus saw [the man] lying there..." (vs. 6). How was it that the Lord went to that place? He went deliberately. The
Healer of all went where there "lay a great multitude of seriously sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed" (vs. 3). As from
eternity, our compassionate Lord determines to enter this life which is filled with sickness, sin, and death (Titus 3:4-5), and
thus, on this particular occasion, at the Pool of Bethesda, a famous gathering place for the desperately ill, the Healer of all
came purposely. Now Bethesda serves as a type of the entire healing work of God. The maladies named in this reading
cover a great variety of the physical diseases common to mankind, but observe: later the Lord sought the man healed of a
physical paralysis, and cautioned him about spiritual sickness (Jn. 5:14). The scope of God's concern covers all
dimensions of our existence. He wills health for us in body, soul, and spirit: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Mt. 6:33). Notice also the Lord's tenderness and the care for the
man. He "knew that he already had been in that condition a long time" (Jn. 5:6). God permits us to remain in our
debilitated states if we so choose. He has great respect for our freedom. Some paralytic might lose his "reliable" income
from begging if he chose to be healed, so the Lord Jesus asked this man, "Do you want to be made well?" (vs. 6).
Sometimes we prefer our "conditions" rather than full health. Even with infinite power available, the Lord of the Universe
does not force people to be healed, to abandon temporal securities, to give up special sins that feed their passions. We may
choose. What irony there is in the paralytic's answers! He vacillates, offering "reasons" (vs. 7). He could not see any
path to health except getting into the water at a critical moment, yet "Health Himself" stood before him! Even so, one can
detect a desire for healing in the man. The Lord, therefore, healed him instantly (vs. 8). God entered the arena of the sick
and sought faith among the porticos. Though not finding much faith, still the Merciful healed the paralytic.
Finally, follow the Lord Jesus' actions carefully: having "begun" the healing of this man, next He sought him out once
again in the Temple. This second time, He directed the man forward to full health, to abandon his far more serious moral
and spiritual illness: "Sin no more," the Lord commanded him (vs. 14). The foremost aspect of the new life in Christ is the
healing of our hearts and wills and minds. As these are healed, which God intends, then our bodies draw fresh vigor from
the better, firm, and certain health of the Holy Spirit. As St. Paul says, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things
which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the
earth" (Col. 3:1,2).
Let us not leave this account without noticing those who were the "most debilitated," those paralyzed by their rules - the
"religious authorities." They saw the man carrying a pallet, "working" on the Sabbath, and this they "knew" was against
the Law of God (Jn. 5:10). Really?!
O Lord, have mercy upon me; for my bed hath become my grave. Of what use is my life? I have no need of the sheep's
pool. I come to Thee, O Fountain of all healing. Glory to Thee!