Tuesday, March 29, 2022

 Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

(Ezekiel 47:1-9.12; John 5:1-16)

As everyone knows, medical science has progressed by leaps and bounds.  Seventy years ago, eye cataract surgery required a delicate operation and a significant hospitalization.  Today it’s performed routinely as an out-patient service.  The relationship between the old and new procedures approximates the meaning of the two readings today.

Ezekiel describes the temple as a source of life.  Its waters are bountiful and productive.  They nourish trees with abundant fruit and medicinal leaves.  As life-giving as the temple is, however, the gospel indicates that Jesus eclipses it.  He encounters a paralytic who cannot get to the temple pool in time.  But there is no need for healing waters. Jesus just says a word to heal him.  The temple is like peroxide to Jesus’ antibiotic. 

Now is the time to renew our faith in Jesus.  He will heal us from the prejudice and fear that often separate us from other people.  Allowing ourselves to be molded by his words, we become loving and joyful. 

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