Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
(Ezekiel 47:1-9.12; John 5:1-16)
The walls of the grotto at Lourdes feature crutches, canes,
and wheelchairs. These abandoned aids of
the infirmed testify to the spring water’s healing effects. Or is it the faith of the sick brought to the
water that heals them? The same question
may be asked of both readings today.
In the first the prophet Ezekiel displays the water from Jerusalem’s
reconstructed Temple. Its high quality
nourishes life wherever it flows. The
invalid in today’s gospel waits for the Temple’s water to be cured. All he needs to do is access the pool, a task
more easily said than done. Jesus comes
along to heal the man so that he might believe in him.
Asking which comes first, faith or healing, is the famous “chicken
or egg” question. God has blessed us continually. Still, we must trust in Him when the blessing
we now seek is not forthcoming. We must
believe that Jesus is always here to give us life.
