The healing of the sick by the Bethesda pond.

Today, St. John discusses the parable of the pond at Bethesda. It looked more like the waiting room of a trauma hospital. After all, many sick people were lying there—blind, lame, and paralyzed. And that’s where Jesus came. It’s pretty strange. Jesus can always find himself in the middle of a problem. Wherever he goes, there is always someone who needs saving. And yes, He comes to save and make people happy.

On the other hand, the Pharisees were only concerned with the fact that it was Saturday. Their eternal issue. Their incredible faith kills their spirit. There is no worse person than the one who hears but does not want to hear. 

The protagonist of the miracle was an invalid for thirty-eight long years. Jesus asks him if he wants to be healed. For a long time, he was suffering in emptiness, and suddenly he found Jesus, who does not promise him but directly offers healing. The voice of Jesus Christ is the voice of God. In the pool of Bethesda, the sick people were healed of their bodies, while by receiving baptism, the same sick people were healed of their souls. However, only the one who entered it first was healed in this pond—baptists.

Doesn’t that helpless, disabled man near the water remind us of our powerlessness to do good? Every day, we can see around us a large crowd of disabled people who would like to but are unable to get rid of their lack of freedom. Sin paralyzes and kills a person. That is why we must focus our gaze on Jesus. We need His mercy to immerse us in the waters of prayer. After all, we don’t want to be eternal invalids.

Thoughts for today’s Gospel: 

Let us be dissatisfied with ourselves when we sin because sins do not please God. And since we are not really without sin, let us at least be like God in this respect, that what displeases him we displease › St. Augustine. 

The doors of the Church are always open. The Church is Jesus’ house, and Jesus receives. And if people are hurt, what will Jesus do? Does he blame them for being hurt? No, He comes and carries them on His shoulders. This is called mercy › Pope Francis. 

Jesus Christ did some works, such as forgiving sins, that revealed him as God the Savior. Some Jews did not recognize in him God who became man but saw in him a man who pretended to be God and condemned him as a blasphemer › KCC 594. 

We need to cultivate good desires. In today’s Gospel, we see that waiting a very long time for their fulfillment is possible. A long wait can put desires to sleep: when Jesus asks the sick man if he wants to get well, he doesn’t answer “I want”; he sees only obstacles. So pay attention to your long, unfulfilled desires. With time, the power of the desire fades, and when the moment of its fulfillment finally comes, you may find that you have already forgotten the desire and see only obstacles. That is why it is necessary to revive the desires in oneself until they are fulfilled › Key to victories: Lesser Conventual brothers – Minorities.