With a little over two weeks left in Lent, Jesus asks the ill man – seeing him and knowing he had been ill a very long time – “Do you want to be well?” (John 5:6) It’s a question to ask ourselves during Lent as we approach Easter. Do we want to be well? 

Sometimes we choose to make our prayers a list of everything that stands in the way of what we want rather than give Jesus the space to work His miracles and bring His healing. We can watch others walk away healed and wish it was us instead. We can choose to be a victim of circumstances out of our control. But Jesus doesn’t want that for us.

And so today, He is asking you to set aside the excuses, set aside the complaints, set aside the hurdles, all the why-you-can’ts or why-you-haven’ts. Today, He is asking you: “Do you want to be well?” That’s the beauty of today’s Gospel. We see the ill man answer Jesus with all the reasons he is not well, and Jesus doesn’t sympathize with him or doesn’t argue with him about whether he is trying hard enough. Jesus tells the man to get up, grab his mat and get walking. The man listens and obeys. This is key. 

Jesus is constantly speaking into our lives. We only need to listen to receive remedies for all the things holding us back. He might ask you to do the thing you least believe you can do like this man who had been ill for 38 years. But Jesus says: “Rise, pick up your mat, and walk.” (John 5:8) Those are Easter words. He is beckoning us to Easter. 

Rise: it’s time to start something fresh–a new day is dawning.

Pick up your mat: Stop floundering in a place you aren’t meant to be. Make a change. Don’t lay on your mat, carry it.

Walk: Live, step forward into new life.

And we see the ill man immediately change and walk away from the pool he had waited years to get into, the pool he thought would someday heal him. Jesus offered more. Jesus offered immediate transformation to the person who obeyed Him. Next, the man is met with opposition. The Pharisees accuse him of doing something wrong and he has no issue telling them what is going on. He says in his own way: I am obeying Jesus because something changed in me. 

The truth is none of us will be disheartened once we take that first step of obedience towards our Lord and accept His invitation to make us well. In our walk forward, may we always remember the reason for our hope, the reason we walk forward with the mat we sat on for years. Jesus, may we never stop walking forward, remaining well, remaining with You. 

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Quedan poco más de dos semanas para que termine la Cuaresma. Al verlo y saber que llevaba mucho tiempo enfermo, Jesús le pregunta al enfermo: “¿Quieres curarte?” (Juan 5,6). Es una pregunta que debemos hacernos durante la Cuaresma, mientras vamos acercándonos a la Pascua. ¿Queremos curarnos?

A veces, elegimos hacer de nuestras oraciones una lista de todo lo que se interpone en el camino de lo que queremos, en lugar de darle a Jesús el espacio para que obre sus milagros y nos traiga su sanación. Podemos ver a otros salir sanados y desear que fuéramos nosotros en su lugar. Podemos elegir ser víctimas de circunstancias que están fuera de nuestro control. Pero Jesús no quiere eso para nosotros.

Por eso, hoy te pide que dejes de lado las excusas, las quejas, los obstáculos, todos los por qué no puedes o por qué no has hecho. Hoy Jesús te pregunta: “¿Quieres curarte?” Esa es la belleza del Evangelio de hoy. Vemos al hombre enfermo responderle a Jesús con todas las razones por las que no se encuentra bien, y Jesús no simpatiza con él ni discute con él sobre si se está esforzando lo suficiente. Jesús le dice al hombre que se levante, tome su camilla y comience a caminar. El hombre escucha y obedece. Esto es clave.

Jesús habla constantemente a nuestras vidas. Solo tenemos que escuchar para recibir remedios para todas las cosas que nos frenan. Él puede pedirte que hagas lo que menos crees que puedes hacer, como este hombre que estuvo enfermo durante 38 años. Pero Jesús dice: “Levántate, toma tu camilla y anda” (Juan 5,8). Esas son palabras de Pascua. Él nos está llamando a la Pascua.

Levántate: es hora de comenzar algo nuevo: está amaneciendo un nuevo día.

Recoge tu camilla: deja de tambalearte en un lugar en el que no deberías estar. Haz un cambio. No te recuestas en tu camilla, llévala.

Anda: vive, da un paso adelante hacia una nueva vida.

Y vemos que el hombre enfermo cambia inmediatamente y se aleja de la piscina en la que había esperado años para entrar, la piscina que pensó que algún día lo sanaría. Jesús ofreció más. Jesús ofreció una transformación inmediata a la persona que lo obedeció. Luego, el hombre se encuentra con oposición. Los fariseos lo acusan de hacer algo malo y no tiene problema en decirles lo que está sucediendo. Dice a su manera: Estoy obedeciendo a Jesús porque algo cambió en mí.

La verdad es que ninguno de nosotros se desanimará una vez que dé ese primer paso de obediencia hacia nuestro Señor y acepte Su invitación para sanarnos. En nuestro camino hacia adelante, que siempre recordemos la razón de nuestra esperanza, la razón por la que caminamos hacia adelante con la camilla en la que nos sentamos durante años. Jesús, que nunca dejemos de caminar hacia adelante, permaneciendo sanos, permaneciendo contigo.

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When the disciples are tasked with feeding five thousand men across from the Sea of Galilee, they are understandably dumbfounded: How can they feed so large a crowd with no food of their own, not much money, and five barley loaves and two fish? Yet, they do not bat an eye when Jesus tells them to prepare the crowd for a meal. Instead of relying on their own intuition and arguing with Jesus about the absurdity of feeding over five thousand people with such a small amount of food, they simply do what He says, knowing that He will provide for His people.

The disciples understand our Gospel acclamation, that “one does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). They have no idea how to approach the situation, but they have learned to trust in Jesus’ direction, even for matters of physical survival. His direction is better than anything they could come up with, even if it seems absurd at the time.

This outlook complements that of the psalmist, whose sole aim is to dwell in the house of the Lord rather than in other, more familiar places. And in our First Reading, we see Gamaliel saying something similar: “If [the gospel message] comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God” (Acts 5:39). He does not want to resist something that might come from God, even if he does not understand it.

Gamaliel, the psalmist, and the disciples see the point of remaining fixed on God, trusting in His direction even when it is difficult. They know that if God ordains something, guiding it with His hand, it cannot fail. If He gives direction, it will not be followed in vain. To dwell in His house is better than all else.

This is a profound trust that we need to adopt in our own lives. There is a subtle self-reliance that creeps in when we spend too much time seeking security by our own efforts alone. We plan far ahead, without consulting God concerning what He wants for our lives and for our loved ones. Inevitably, our best laid plans fail, and we make new ones, which fare no better. If we are not used to consulting God and trusting that He truly has things under control, we rely on worldly methods to maintain security, prestige, and wealth, so that we can have everything necessary for a good and peaceful life. Seeking easy steps to success, we look to social media and popular wisdom to solve our problems. If these solutions are divorced from spirituality, they never bring us the peace and security we seek.

Ultimately, we need to trust in what God has already told us through readings such as these. Even and especially when things look confusing and hopeless, God is in control. We must listen to Him and seek His will in these moments through prayer, Scripture, the sacraments, and spiritual direction, trusting in what He tells us, even if we cannot understand the reasons for it. We cannot expect to fully understand the ways of God, but that does not mean that they are inferior to the ways we can come up with on our own. Dwelling in His house is the goal, and His direction and protection are best for us in all situations.

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Cuando los discípulos tienen la tarea de alimentar a cinco mil hombres al otro lado del Mar de Galilea, se quedan estupefactos: ¿Cómo pueden alimentar a una multitud tan grande sin comida propia, sin mucho dinero, cinco panes de cebada y dos peces? Sin embargo, no se inmutan cuando Jesús les dice que preparen a la multitud para una comida. En lugar de confiar en su propia intuición y discutir con Jesús acerca de lo absurdo de alimentar a más de cinco mil personas con una cantidad tan pequeña de comida, simplemente hacen lo que les manda, sabiendo que proveerá para Su pueblo.

Los discípulos entienden nuestra aclamación evangélica, que “No sólo de pan vive el hombre, sino también de toda palabra que sale de la boca de Dios.” (Mt 4,4). No tienen idea de cómo abordar la situación, pero han aprendido a confiar en la dirección de Jesús, incluso en cuestiones de supervivencia física. Su orientación es mejor que cualquier cosa que se les haya ocurrido, incluso si parece absurdo en ese momento.

Esta perspectiva complementa la del salmista, cuyo único objetivo es morar en la casa del Señor y no en otros lugares más familiares. Y en nuestra Primera Lectura, vemos a Gamaliel diciendo algo similar: “si lo que se proponen y están haciendo es de origen humano, se acabará por sí mismo. Pero si es cosa de Dios, no podrán ustedes deshacerlo. No se expongan a luchar contra Dios” (Hechos 5:39). No quiere resistirse a algo que podría venir de Dios, aunque no lo entienda.

Gamaliel, el salmista y los discípulos ven el punto de mantenerse fijos en Dios, confiando en Su orientación incluso cuando sea difícil. Saben que si Dios ordena algo, guiándolo con Su mano, no puede fallar. Si orienta a alguien, sus indicaciones no serán seguidas en vano. Morar en Su casa es mejor que cualquier otra cosa.

Esta es una confianza profunda que necesitamos adoptar en nuestras propias vidas. Hay una autosuficiencia sutil que se cuela cuando pasamos demasiado tiempo buscando seguridad solo con nuestros propios esfuerzos. Planeamos con mucha anticipación, sin consultar a Dios sobre lo que quiere para nuestra vida y la de nuestros seres queridos. Inevitablemente, nuestros planes fallan y creamos otros nuevos, y no nos va mejor. Si no estamos acostumbrados a consultar a Dios y confiar en que realmente tiene las cosas bajo su control, nos apoyamos en métodos mundanos para mantener la seguridad, el prestigio y la riqueza, para que podamos tener todo lo necesario para una vida buena y pacífica. Buscando pasos fáciles hacia el éxito, recurrimos a las redes sociales y la sabiduría popular para resolver nuestros problemas. Si estas soluciones están separadas de la espiritualidad, nunca nos traerán la paz y la seguridad que buscamos.

En última instancia, debemos confiar en lo que Dios ya nos ha dicho a través de las escrituras, como las lecturas de hoy. Incluso y especialmente cuando las cosas parecen confusas y sin esperanza, Dios tiene todo bajo control. Debemos escucharlo y buscar su voluntad en estos momentos a través de la oración, la Escritura, los sacramentos y la dirección espiritual, confiando en lo que nos dice, aunque no podamos entender las razones. No podemos esperar comprender completamente los caminos de Dios, pero eso no significa que sean inferiores a los caminos que podemos encontrar por nuestra cuenta. Morar en Su casa es la meta, y Su orientación y su protección son lo mejor para nosotros en todas las situaciones.

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“When they heard this, they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death.”

The Apostles were so convicted by their experience of Jesus Christ, that they continued to tell his story even when those in power wanted to put them to death. Let that sink in for a moment. They wanted them put to death. And the Apostles did not stop. 

We live in a time when we are taught not to discuss religion and politics. We have witnessed people shamed and brought down for standing up for their convictions. It is a time of “political correctness” and “cancel culture”. 

This hits home hard for me. It is hard for me to even write these words. I am ashamed to admit that there have been times in my life when I have not brought up my faith because I was afraid it would make for an uncomfortable dinner conversation. I have neglected to share the grace I have received, because I wasn’t sure how the person would react, they might think I was weird or worse. I had a job once where I was cautioned to tuck in my crucifix because I was around people who didn’t like Catholics and I complied. No one has threatened my life, but there have definitely been times when I didn’t tell the story of Jesus Christ and the wonders he has worked. For that I am ashamed. 

A personal encounter with Jesus Christ has the ability to transform us. A personal encounter with Jesus Christ is able to take us outside of ourselves and move us into meaningful encounters with others. It is our mission to go out into the world and tell the story of Jesus Christ and his mercy. We are not to tell it once and then go back home, we are to tell the story over and over. More than that, we are to live the story. We are to live in such a way that mercy is our hallmark; where telling others how much they are loved is part of just who we are and how we operate. 

So I will take comfort from John’s words in the Gospel. “He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.” As I bend my will to conform more and more to God’s will, I can trust that God will not ration his gift of the Spirit so that each day I can start anew and along with the Psalmist “bless the Lord at all times.” Even when it feels uncomfortable. 

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