Paralytic 2015 Fr Michael Margitich

Some years ago, I attended a clergy gathering

and was pleased to attend. The weather was magnificent.

And so when I arrived at the church, I greeted

my clergy colleagues. by saying, what a heavenly

day it is. And a deacon, a recently ordained

deacon said, Father Michael, let's not talk shop.

Well, this morning I'm going to talk shop. And

I'm using the text found in the fifth chapter

of John. It's a text that has many levels of

interpretation. It's one that we could easily

overlook. You may not have noticed, but since

Pascha night until Pentecost, all of the readings

are taken from the fourth chapter of the fourth

gospel, meaning John. There are some visible

descriptive images in every one of these Sunday

readings. There is only one exception to that

and that was last Sunday when we read from Mark's

Gospel. And so throughout those readings we have

these descriptions or references or images of

Christ. He is called the Word, the Messiah. the

light of the world, grace and truth, and in the

words of the Apostle Thomas, my Lord and my God.

In these images, Christ is clearly revealed as

the one who came to seek, And to save. The least.

The last. And the lost. I want to quote from.

Today's gospel. The fourth verse. In these. lay

a great multitude of invalid folk, blind, halt,

withered, and waiting for the movement of the

water. On one occasion, as Jesus went by this

famous pool, referred to as the Pool of Bethesda,

there were a multitude of people, invalids as

the evangelist God calls them. But out of the

multitude of people, Christ focuses his eyes

on one individual, an invalid, a paralytic, who

for 38 years lay in this Hopeless and helpless

condition. And Jesus asked him this question.

Do you want to be healed? That sounds like a

very naive and even insensitive question. Of

course the man wanted to be healed. He's been

there for 38 years waiting for someone to take

him into the pool. So that when the water bubbles,

he could be made well again. I can only imagine

the reaction of this paralytic when Christ asked

that question. However, there is a deeper meaning

involved behind the question that our beloved

Lord asked. I would like to elaborate on the

issue. But as usual, time constraints limits

me to saying that Jesus is suggesting to this

individual that there can be no healing if a

person does not want to be healed. part of any

healing process is the powerful, strong desire

to be healed. Give an illustration. A teacher

can help and challenge a student in not only

in an academic way, but other ways by providing

the student With a good challenge. But the student

has to respond to that challenge if there is

to be growth and maturity. Now the same principle

holds in our relationship to our beloved Lord.

The scriptures tell us that God became man in

Christ to seek and to save. to heal and to forgive.

However, absolutely nothing can ever happen if

one does not respond and reach out to Christ.

Do you recall that scriptural teaching on Zacchaeus?

He took the first step to salvation by desiring

to see Christ. No obstacle stood in his way.

Now we are told by the evangelist Luke that there

were hundreds and hundreds of people who surrounded

Christ, touched Christ. But our Lord only focused

on this one individual sitting up on the sycamore

tree. Christ said to him, Zacchaeus, come down

from the tree. I want to spend an evening with

you. You know the results. You know that he was

changed in that encounter with Christ. He was

changed from head to foot and from foot to head.

He was willing to give half of his stuff away.

The stuff he stole, of course. And if he misappropriated

anything, he would give a fourth of it back.

Now with regard to this whole issue of the paralytic

and suffering and pain and grief and sorrow,

Solzhenitsyn said this, you can give up, you

could give in, or you could go on. But in the

light of the Christian faith, there is more to

this suffering than suffering. It can be destructive.

It can destroy an individual. It can be totally

meaningless. But it could be totally meaningful.

Because behind every cross there follows a resurrection.

Behind every cross. It may not be that clear

to us at the moment. But that's the way God works.

He works through love. The love sometimes we

can't understand. You see, nothing can happen

without faith. Absolutely nothing. The door lock

of our heart is from within. And we can only

open it from within. Not from without. God coerces

no one. So in this unique story of the healing

of the paralytic, Jesus is asking, do you want

to experience the joy of a new life? Then put

away your spiritual doubts. Rise. Look at me.

Live a life of faith. Rise. Quit being paralyzed

by fear. Rise. Get up. Get up of your bed. And

get rid of those worldly and crippled ideas that

the world is promoting. Walk with me in faith.

Love me, serve me, and I will lead you to the

kingdom of God, to everlasting love. Because

if you love me, Jesus said, you'll keep my commandments.

Now back to the question Jesus asked the paralytic.

Do you want to be healed? Yes, he responded.

Of course I do. But I have no one to help me

to get into the pool at the time the water is

troubled. Do you notice Jesus never suggested

he would help him? Get back into the pool. Never.

Jesus said stop looking at the pool and look

at me. Stop wasting your life and waiting for

the right time. The right circumstances. Rise.

Take your eyes off the pool problem. And lift

up your heart. in thanksgiving to God. What do

we hear throughout the year during the liturgy?

As the father pities his children, so the Lord

pities those who love him. The word rise is found

in both today's Gospel reading and in the Epistle.

And in the ninth chapter of the Acts of Apostles,

the Apostle Peter says to a paralytic, Aeneas,

Jesus heals you. Rise up. Take your mat. And

in the same chapter, the same apostle tells to

Tabitha, a woman active in the church who fell

asleep in the Lord. He said, Tabitha, arise.

rise. And she sat up and they gave her something

to eat. And Jesus said to her, paralytic, rise.

Take up your mat and walk. But that's something

he couldn't do for 38 years. But he did it. He

did it. By the power of divine grace, he was

changed. A great and important message is found

in that four -letter word, rise. That word is

filled with dynamis. As the Greeks would say,

dynamite. It expresses the power of the resurrection.

The good news of the gospel is that in Christ,

our Lord tells us, we do not need to carry our

past luggage and burden. Or burdens. Whatever

they may be. Cast them before the cross. Before

the cross. Joy has come into the world. Our Lord

said. I have come. In order that you may have

life. And have it more abundantly. Christ is

risen.