Create a clean heart in me, O God; give back to me the joy of your salvation

Reverend Fathers, Reverend Sisters, my dear brothers Maupay nga aga ha aton
nga tanan.
Our gospel today is about a man who had been sick for thirty eight years.
This man was hoping that he will be healed in the water of the Sheep Pool with a
Hebrew name Bethesda. It was believed that the water had a healing power that is
why several sick people were there lying with different illnesses, blind, lame or
disabled waiting for the movement of the waters. Jesus asked ask the man Do you
want to be healed? The man replied that no one will plunge him into the pool once
the water is stirred up. By the time the man get there, someone else had gone
ahead of him. Jesus said to him Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk. The man was
immediately cured; he picked up his mat and began to walk.
Come to me all you are weary and find life burdensome and I will refresh
you. We heard these words of Jesus. In our gospel for today Jesus manifests his
mercy and compassion towards those who are sick and at the same time forgive
them of their sins. In the scripture sickness is associated with sin. The man had
been sick for quite long years and was slave by sin almost the entire of his life. I bet
the man was hopeless in his situation because of his illness and that he cannot even
plunge himself into the water. During that time having an illness means a lot,
impure and rejected by the society and punish by God. The first reading and the
gospel made mention of water, water brings us life, heals us, cleanse us and at the
same time nourishes us. The water of baptism cleanses us from our original sin. We
cant imagine a life without water. Water does not only symbolize life but at the
same it also signifies death. The flood in the time of Noah that killed many people
that was unrighteous. Here in our gospel the sick man hope and have a faith that
somehow- someday he will be healed but he believed that the only way is the water
in the pool but there is Jesus that heals body and soul. What a wonderful sign of
Gods love for his people, of his desire to heal and free us. Yet the Jews are unable to
see the goodness in his healing. Consumed with jealousy and pride, they close their
hearts to Jesus accusing Him of violating the law of the Sabbath. The sad irony is
that they have waited long for the messiah to come and set them free, yet when he

comes, they rejected the freedom he brings. They act as if it would be better if Jesus
had not healed the man.
This sort of reaction is not limited to the Pharisees or the Jews in the case of
our gospel. Sin has had a crippling effect on us all. Many people feel that God is
distant from their lives and that he does not care much about them personally.
Other sees him as an angry judge, ready to punish and condemn sinners. In our
lives, when we harbor resentment and mistrust we keep God at a distance.
Pondering todays gospel give us a spiritual remedy for all these sins and
weaknesses of faith. Here Jesus reveals the very heart of God. He sees the needs of
the people- the pain, sickness and helpless- and his heart is moved with pity. The
Lord is truly concerned about his people, about each one of us individually. His heart
is open to us all the time. It is a shame that we close our heart against him.
Jesus was aware of what the man was thinking because he can read his
heart- and so he offers him some tangible proof that the Son of Man has the
authority to forgive sins and to heal. The proof is the instantaneous cure of the
mans sickness, an amazing physical healing. Jesus uses visible cure as a sign of his
authority even over sin.
The power by which we believe what we cannot see is called faith. We cannot
see faith either but Jesus can. He normally looks for faith before he works miracle,
because without faith deeper meaning of any miracle is missed. Jesus did not make
many miracles in his hometown of Nazareth because of peoples lack of faith.
This shows us the power of being part of a community of faith. When our faith
is weak, or when we are paralyzed by the grip of sin, we can find strength in the
faith of our brothers and sisters, who brings us into the feet of Jesus. And when they
struggle and falter our faith can be a true channel of healing and strength for them.
This consoling dynamic mentioned at every Mass, right before the sign of peace,
when the priests say to Jesus Christ, the Source of peace: Look not on our sins but
on the sins but on the faith of your Church. When Jesus sees the faith of the Church,
he grants peace

What are the challenges for us specially this season of lent? The water
symbolizes grace of healing and forgiveness, giving life to the hearts of all who
believe. We are all sinners and have our weaknesses and it is only Jesus Christ that
can cleanse from all our sins through the sacrament of reconciliation. Jesus is
waiting for us to go back to him. Jesus is asking us if we want to be healed, and may
our response be positive, let us not harden our hearts. He is a loving father that
waits for his children to return to him.
Let us also bring the mercy and healing of Christ in our community and as
well as in our own dioceses when we go home by encouraging and inviting the
people to go back to God. Amen