Paralytic 2016 Fr Michael Margitich

Thank you. Let the mercy of the Lord be upon

us. That he also came down to the saints who

dwelt in Lydda. There he found a certain man

named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight

years and was paralyzed. And Peter said unto

him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes thee whole, arise

and make thy bed. Then immediately he arose,

so all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon. saw him

and turned to the Lord. Now there was at Jaffa

a certain disciple named Tamaka, which by translation

is called Dorcas. This woman was full of good

works and charitable deeds, which she did. But

it happened in those days that she became sick

and died, and when they had washed her, they

laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was

near Jaffa, and the disciples had heard that

Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring

him not to delay in coming to them. Then Peter

arose and went with them, and when he had come,

they brought him to the upper room. And all the

widows stood by him, weeping. showing the clothes

and garments which Dorcas had made while she

was with them. But Peter put them all out and

knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body,

he said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes,

and when she saw Peter, she sat up. Then he gave

her his hand and lifted her up, and when he had

called, The saints and widows he presented her

alive. And it was known the world called Jaffa.

And many believed in the Lord. And thy spirit

was not broken on his head at all. Hallelujah,

hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah. He had, and

a certain man was there which had an infirmity

thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie,

and knew that he had been now a long time in

that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made

whole? The infinite man answered him, Sir, I

have no man, but the water, his troubles would

be in the pool. But what? him, Rise, take up

thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was

made whole, and took up his bed, and walked.

And on the same day was the Sabbath. The Jews

therefore said unto him that was cured, It is

the Sabbath day, it is not lawful for thee to

carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made

me whole, the same said unto me, take up thy

bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man

is that which said unto me, Take up thy bed,

and walk? And he that was healed was not who

it was, for Jesus had conveyed himself away,

a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus

findeth him in the temple, and said unto him,

Behold, thou art made whole, sin no more. lest

a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed

and told the Jews that it was Jesus which had

made him whole. And meaning of the Bible can

be found in these few words. The Word was made

flesh. The Word was made flesh, meaning that

God Himself In the person of Jesus Christ. Revealed

himself. In an ultimate sense. And as Saint Paul

writes. Jesus is the invisible God. The image.

The image of the invisible God. I can never get

over these wonderful incredible joys and uplifting

words that God has become one of us taking on

all our suffering all our sins so that we Can

become like him. We continually sing. Throughout

the liturgical year. God is with us. And it is

in the church. Which is the prolongation of Christ

in this world. So the church is. But the image

of Christ, the very essence of Christ. Now it's

interesting to note that all of the Sunday Gospel

readings from Paschal to Pentecost are taken

from St. John's Gospel. Last week, however, was

an exception. But in all of these readings, Jesus

is variously described and referred to as the

light of the world. Or as Thomas said, my Lord

and my God. And in this morning's gospel, taken

from the fifth chapter of St. John, the evangelist

tells us that Jesus was in Jerusalem. And on

this particular occasion, Jesus passed by the

pool of Bethesda, where he noticed a paralytic.

And Jesus said to him, Do you want to be healed?

That seems like a strange question, doesn't it?

For a man who has been paralyzed for 38 years,

lying on a mat in a hopeless condition, looking

for someone to put him into the pool when the

pool bubbled. But there is a profound reason

Jesus asked that question. Because there can

be no healing if a person does not want to be

healed. Part of the healing process is the burning

desire to be made well. Over the years, I have

heard in confession where an individual acknowledges,

I can't forgive myself. If he can't forgive himself,

there's no healing. Because God was already in

his mysterious way. has healed us, has given

us the opportunity to be made well. When we,

as the Church, pray for the sick and suffering,

we are not asking God to change His mind and

to do something that God Does not want to do.

In prayer. What we are. Seeking to do. Is what.

The great heroes of our faith. The saints. The

fathers of the church. Have been doing for 2

,000 years. Drawing closer to God. who can do

what only God can do for us, to make us whole

persons. And that's what salvation is all about,

making us whole persons. And in prayer, we open

ourselves to his healing presence and say, In

a prayerful way. Come. And abide in us. One father

said. That it is blasphemous to think. That God

does not want us to be well. The scriptures tell

us in various ways. God's will for us is wholeness

and salvation. Unfortunately, for one reason

or other, we hesitate to fulfill God's will.

And that is why it's so important to remember

when saying the Lord's Prayer. Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Thy will be done. Now we don't always understand

the will of God. And no one can ever. Penetrate.

The divine. Mystery of God. But God does seek.

As we know. To heal us. Not in the ways we want

us to be healed. But in the ways that God. Wants

us to be healed. Do you recall the story of Zacchaeus?

He took the first step. Toward health and salvation.

By making a determined. Effort. To seek Christ.

And what did this gentleman do? This so -called

man of Jericho, he climbed up a tree because

he was a short stature and could not see Jesus

because of the crowd. But isn't it absolutely

incredible that of all the people in Jerusalem

who saw Jesus, that day, the Lord focused on

this man up the tree. And he said, come down.

Come down, Zacchaeus. I want to spend the evening

with you. I sincerely and this is based on the

scriptures, that there is more to suffering than

simply suffering. For if we permit the spirit

of despair and anger to darken the purity of

our soul and heart, then the redemptive value

Of suffering. Is lost. How many times. During

the. Year do we hear these words. Through the

cross. Joy. Has come into the world. Behind every

cross. or the cross that we have been given is

the assurance of a resurrection. I don't know

whether I related this story to you on another

occasion, but one Solzhenitsyn was in the gulag

and he began to have negative thoughts about

living. dreadful thoughts. And on occasion they

permitted him to go out into the yard to spend

a few moments. There's a gentleman who happened

to pass by. He had a cane in his hands. Solzhenitsyn

looked at him. And this man, whom Solzhenitsyn

later considered him to be a monk, he drew a

cross, a plate cross on the ground. Solzhenitsyn

returned to his cell with joy. Nothing can happen,

my dear people, nothing, absolutely nothing could

happen without faith in Christ, the divine healer.

It's important to underscore the fact that the

door of our heart can only be opened from within.

Even the infinite and omniscient God Cannot come

into our life if we do not invite him. Now there's

so much more in this story of the miraculous

healing of the paralytic. But I want to, and

I deliberately limit myself to this one passage.

If you want to be well, then put away your doubts.

Rise. Get rid of those worldly and crippled ideas

that this world is promoting. Rise. And this

word rise also appeared in the book of Acts in

today's reading. Rise. Symbolizing the power

of resurrection. You know, when Jesus said to

the paralytic Christ, it was something he could

not do for 38 years. And yet, he heard these

words, picked up his mat, and walked. Glory be

to Jesus Christ. When he heard these words, which

words, incidentally, we hear every Sunday. When

our deacon. Proclaims the gospel. Or whether

the clergy. Offer. A meditation. But somehow.

And for some reason. We don't always hear. These

words. Rise. I have come. That you may have life.

Not death. Because death was destroyed. As sin

was destroyed. You and I are blessed indeed every

Sunday. So be careful. Be alert. Be vigilant.

I know Father Theodore came out two or three

times when the songs were being written because

it was talking. We can't hear the voice of Christ

if we're busy chatting. During the course of

Holy Week. We heard. And some of us were deeply

moved. How Christ himself. The perfect God. The

Theantropos. Walked each other in. Willingly.

Accepted suffering, death, but also resurrection.

So never separate the two. There is physical

healing. But my dear people, there is such a

thing as spiritual healing. Which means... And

we don't always understand it. The Holy Spirit.

Helps us. In our weakness. In the words of Saint

Paul. We know that all things work together for

good to those who love God. Jesus. Is with us.

As a co -sufferer. Now. And he'll be there. When

he welcomes us. Into his kingdom. Glory be. To

our resurrected Christ.