TUESDAY 16TH MARCH 2021
FOURTH WEEK OF LENT
Ezekiel 47:1-9,12
John 5:1-3,5-16
GOD WORKS THROUGH THE NATURAL ELEMENTS HE CREATED
When we hear of some elements God has used to reach out to human beings, we may wonder how those elements began to have powers. When God decides to dedicate something for himself, he makes the place or element holy and powerful. Example of this is the holy pictures and places dedicated to God. Places of apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints have become holy places.
In the gospel reading of today, we see that the Jews had such a holy place which happened to be a pool of water. An angel of God stirs the water and whoever is sick and is able to get inside the water will be cured. Many sick people are either not there when the angel stirs the water, or do not have anyone to carry them inside the water. The crippled man who met Jesus in the gospel reading of today at the pool, had waited 38 years to be cured and no one could help him. The Jews did not know when Jesus came around and cured him, but when they saw the man carrying the mat that he had used to sit close to the pool, they accused the man of working on the sabbath. It is very surprising how hypocritical they were. The cure of the man could have called for celebration, but the Jews seemed to be sadists.
The cure of the man also became another point to crucify Jesus because he performed a miracle on the sabbath day. Do you get angry when good things happen to others? Do you hold on to the law so tenaciously to the detriment of human dignity and wellbeing?
Lord, help us to know your ways and seek the good of others. Amen.
Fr Michael Osatofoh Eninlejie, MSP
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