See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you

 

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  

 

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  

 

For this reason, the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

 

- John 5:1–18 

 

Yesterday we read that after spending two days among the Samaritans (see readings from Thursday, Friday, and Saturday),  He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he hard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.   

 

  After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  This pool was a double-basin pool which was believed to have curative powers.  My study Bible says that this pool has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.  It notes that the water for this high-ground pool came from underground springs, and it was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  Moreover, my study Bible comments, this pool functions as a type of Christian baptism, reflecting meanings which transition from the old to the new covenant.  Under the old, a great multitude waited to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  These waters, it explains, were special because they were a way of indirectly participating in the animal sacrifices of the temple, as the animals were washed in the same water.  But the grace was limited in this case to only the first person to enter.  But under the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations, and it is a direct participation in the sacrificial death of Christ (Romans 6:3-6), without the mediation of angels.  Baptism, my study Bible comments, therefore grants healing of the soul and the promise of eternal resurrection of the body -- and moreover, its grace is inexhaustible.  We recall Christ's words to the Samaritan woman, from Thursday's reading, "But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

 

 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  My study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who comments here that Jesus singled out the man who had waited for thirty-eight years so that we are taught to have perseverance.  Additionally it is a type of judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles lasting a far shorter time. 

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  My study Bible says that Christ's question is relevant for several reasons.  First, it made public the fact that the sick man kept his faith although in a situation that was seemingly hopeless. How could a paralytic ever be the first into the water?  Second, Christ draws attention away from the water, and toward the concept that we need a man to help us.  Of course, it is Christ who fulfills this need, as He became a Man in order to heal all people.  Finally, not all those who are ill actually desire healing.  This is linked to a psychological preference to remain infirm in order to be free to complain, to avoid responsibility for their lives, or to continue to stimulate pity in others.

And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  We remember that in John's Gospel, the majority of the use of the term the Jews is used like a political term, to designate the leadership (Jesus and all the others in this story are also Jews, as well as John the author of the Gospel).  My study Bible comments here that although the Law itself doesn't specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, it is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:21-22, and also explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.  It notes that the understanding that Christ is Lord over the Sabbath becomes clear in His command to the man ("Rise, take up your bed and walk"), and then by the man's obedience to Him.  We may also observe the malice in these leaders, who focus only on the violation of the Sabbath, by asking, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed'?" and ignoring completely the healing of this man who'd suffered for such a long time.  

 

 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."   My study Bible notes that this healed man is found in the temple, emphasizing that it shows his great faith.  He had gone there directly to thank God for his cure rather than leaving for someone's home or the marketplace.  Jesus tells him, "Sin no more."  My study Bible comments on this that as there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), this connection is, however, not always one-to-one.  Clearly, the innocent often suffer, and the guilty are often spared from earthly sufferings (see also John 9:1-3).  But nonetheless, sometimes our sins do lead directly to our own worldly suffering.  According to St. Chrysostom, such was the case with the paralytic.  Jesus' warning, however, is that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than an affliction of the body, my study Bible notes.  Our only hope is fleeing from sin.

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  My study Bible explains that the man doesn't report Jesus to the religious leaders of the Jews in a malicious way, but rather he is witness to Christ's goodness.  Although these leaders were only interested in the violation of the Sabbath, this healed man emphasizes that it was Jesus who had made him well, and said nothing about carrying his bed.  

For this reason, the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.  My study Bible says that when Jesus declares God to be My Father, these religious leaders clearly understand that it implies absolute equality.  In the following reading, Jesus will continue to express this unity.

 

Jesus says to the healed former paralytic, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  At first glance, it might appear that Jesus is Himself issuing a threat to this man, as some kind of punishment or retribution.  But with God, this is not the case.  It is similar to John's teaching to Nicodemus:  "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."  The explanation here is not that one is offered a punishment for refusal of Christ.  But it is communion with Christ that confers the healing and the grace and the redemption.  Therefore to run from this communion, to refuse it, or to participate in that which runs counter to it and is against it, is to reject the grace, healing, and redemption offered by Christ.  When we're talking about our faith, it is important to understand the impact and power of communion, of participation in the life of Christ.  Whatever it is that cuts us off from that communion works against the dividends of faith.  We have a great grace working for us, and we are given much mercy so long as we are capable of repentance, redemption, of seeking out God.  But our own refusal jeopardizes that capacity, and works to blind us to the ways God would have us go toward God and receive that light.  If we observe the effects of Christ's presence in the Gospels -- and particularly in the progression of events in John's Gospel -- we will notice that while those who are in some way healed or redeemed by Christ continue moving more deeply into faith and communion with Him, as the same story progresses the religious leaders who refuse Him and wish to condemn Him only draw further away, even as they draw themselves into more deeply blindly sinful and corrupt behavior in condemning One whom they know to be innocent.  When we are warned about the effects of sin, it's not for punishment but for our protection and good, like a parent warning a child about touching a hot stove.  The healing in today's reading constitutes the third sign of seven given in John's Gospel.  My study Bible claims that this sign exemplifies the divine power to restore a person to wholeness.  According to patristic sources, this feast which Jesus is attending is the Old Testament Pentecost (also called the "Feast of Weeks") which celebrated the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.  Later references in this chapter to the Law of Moses affirm this interpretation.  So let us think about the "law" of participation and communion.  We are to understand that whatever breaks or harms this relationship also does harm to our capacity to receive God's grace and healing power.  In the thoughts of the Church, our very lives are dependent upon God; therefore to jeopardize our deeper or closer faith is to jeopardize the life in abundance we're promised, and all the things that might mean.  Let us pay attention to the law of God's love.

 

 

Rise, take up your bed and walk

 

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude a sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

 

- John 5:1–18 

 

Yesterday we that after the two days with the Samaritans, Christ departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"   Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.   

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.   The feast to which Jesus goes in this chapter is traditionally understood to be the Old Testament Pentecost (which is also called the "Feast of Weeks).  It is a celebration of the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.  The references to the Law of Moses later in this fifth chapter of John confirm this interpretation.  

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude a sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.   This was a double-basin pool, which was believed to have curative powers.   My study bible reports that it has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.   The water for this high-ground pool was from underground springs.  It was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  My study bible adds that the pool functions as a type of Christian baptism.  Under the Old covenant, a great multitude waited to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  These waters were special in that they offered a way to indirectly participate in the animal sacrifices of the temple, since the animals were washed in the same water.  But that is a limited grace, only for the first person to enter.    Under the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations as a direct participation in Christ's own sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6), without the mediation of angels.  Baptism, therefore, grants healing of the soul and the promise of the eternal resurrection of the body, and its grace is inexhaustible.

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  My study bible says that, according to St. John Chrysostom, Jesus singles out this particular man who had waited for thirty-eight years in order to teach us to have perseverance, and also as a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles lasting a far shorter time.

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  My study bible comments that Christ's question is relevant for several reasons.  First, it made public the fact that the sick man kept his faith even in a situation that was seemingly hopeless, for how could a paralytic ever be the first into the water?  Second, the Lord draws attention away from the water and toward the need we have for a man to help us.  This was fulfilled in Christ Himself, who became human in order to heal all.  Third, it says, not everybody who is ill actually desires to be healed.  Some sadly might prefer to remain infirm for various reasons, such as in order to have license to complain, to avoid responsibility for their lives, or to continue to attract the pity of others.

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  The Law itself doesn't specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, but it is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:21-22, and also in rabbinical teachings.  My study bible explains that it is made clear that Christ is Lord over the Sabbath by His command to "Rise, take up your bed and walk," and also by the man's obedience (see also Matthew 12:1-8).  As we have noted before in John's Gospel, we must keep in mind that the term Jews often is used as a political label, and refers to the leaders (as in these verses) and not to the people in general.  My study bible suggests that we notice the malice of these leaders, for their focus is solely on the violation of the Sabbath, asking the man specifically "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed'?" but altogether ignoring his miraculous healing, and after so many long years of infirmity. 

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."   My study bible comments on the fact that this healed man was found in the temple, and that it shows his great faith -- for he had gone there directly to thank God for his cure rather than leaving for someone's home or to the marketplace.  Jesus tells him to sin no more:  although there is a connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), my study bible says that this connection isn't always one-to-one, for the innocent frequently suffer, and the guilty are also often spared earthly sufferings (see also John 9:1-3).  But nevertheless, there are times when our own sins lead to our own suffering in this world.  St. John Chrysostom indicates that this was the case with this paralytic.  But Christ's warning is that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than an affliction of the body.  The only hope is to flee from sin altogether.  

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.   My study bible indicates that this man doesn't report Jesus to the leaders of the Jews in a malicious way, but rather as a witness to the goodness of God.  Even though these leaders were only interested in the violation of the Sabbath, the healed man emphasizes that it was Jesus who had made him well, and saying nothing about carrying his bed.  

For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.   That Jesus declares God to be His Father is a clear implication of absolute equality, which the religious leaders recognize.  

Let us think about this man who was healed by the side of the pool at the Sheep Gate.  Can we imagine waiting someplace for thirty-eight years in the small hope of being healed by the water?  That is, in the small hope of being healed at that sometime point when the waters are stirred, and also needing someone to help us get to the pool when we are unable to walk, and so there are always people in front of us?  Imagine needing to be first into that pool, at that specific time, and with an infirmity that makes us unable to walk on our own.  You have then a picture of what my study bible calls the faint hope of healing under the Old Covenant, as compared to the New, which is offered for all.  What does it mean to us, as modern people in our own time and place, that Christ becomes that Person who is there to help this man to become whole?  He doesn't help him into the water, but He heals with a word, with a command for this man to "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  One might wonder that possibly at the mere command of Christ the impossible becomes possible:  at the call or command of the Creator all creation responds.  But this healing is permanent, not temporary.  But we must note what happens later on in the temple, when Jesus tells this believing man, who is grateful to God, that he must not sin:  "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."   To my mind, this tells us a great deal not simply about faith, but also about the very "way we walk" in our own lives.  In order to retain the healing Christ gives to us, the forward movements in our lives, we need to be in a certain place, spiritually speaking.  We need to occupy a place in which we earnestly seek to remain aware of that love of God always pulling us into a particular place of faith, a prayerful connection to God.  What Jesus is essentially telling this man is that he must remain mindful of who he is, how God healed him, and also of the place into which Jesus has pulled him, in a communion of faith with Christ.  Jesus is saying to him that he must remain aware of his connection to God in order to continue to walk in a healed way.  To allow sin to come back into his life will be somehow dangerous; it will be to open back up to the forces that made him infirm and which debilitate our lives and distract us from God.  It will be sliding backward from the road upon which Christ has put him by having compassion on him and healing him.  It is to take God for granted, and to forget that although we are healed by grace, there is also our own part to play in our healing.  It seems to be a great metaphor in the story for our own lives, that no matter where we have come on our journey of faith, there is no such thing as backsliding for us as believers, that God will always call us forward.  Christ does not just give us one command, but asks to walk with us continually.  Our attention and our prayer is necessary.  Our communion with God might be the most important thing that keeps us on a road to physical, mental, psychological, and spiritual health.  Our communion with God always calls us deeply into participation in something that demands our attention, asks us to make room for God, and to try to keep out whatever it is that would pull us off course.  Grace is not a cheap gift:  it is a living and true reality in which we participate.  Lent is simply the time for us to pay attention to that gift and to delve more deeply into it.  It's for this reason that we practice fasting at this time, and we increase our prayer.  We set aside time to dive into our faith, to plunge within more deeply into relationship to renew our communion with God, and to live again with Christ the story of His Passion, death, and Resurrection.  What ails you?  What are you going through?  Or what are you healed from that you don't want to come back?  How is God calling you?  Set aside time for God, and let whatever needs to be played out in your own life take shape by participation in His life, as we look toward the Resurrection.  

Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you."  But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.  And He said to them, "Why are you troubled?  And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.  But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?"  So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.  And He took it and ate in their presence.

Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And you are witnesses of these things.  Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.  Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up to heaven.  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God.  Amen.

- Luke 24:36-53

Yesterday we read that after hearing the stories of the women about their encounter with the angels at the empty tomb, Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself what had happened.  Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.  And they talked together of all these things which had happened.  So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.  But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.  And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"  Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"  And He said to them, "What things?"  So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.  But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.  Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.  Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.  When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.  And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."  Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.  Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.  But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."  And He went in to stay with them.  Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.  And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"  And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you."   My study bible notes that this resurrectional greeting of Christ, Peace to you,  is proclaimed by a priest or bishop frequently in worship services.  We recall Christ's teaching as He sent out the Seventy on their first mission:  "But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you" (10:5-6).

But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.  And He said to them, "Why are you troubled?  And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.  But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?"  So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.  And He took it and ate in their presence.  My study bible says that Christ eats not because He in His resurrected body needs food, but to prove to the disciples that He is truly risen in the flesh.  There is a spiritual significance to the elements of food Christ eats:  the fish is associated with active virtue, and the honeycomb is the sweetness of divine wisdom. 

Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And you are witnesses of these things."  Christ puts emphasis (as He did to the two apostles in the story of the road to Emmaus in yesterday's reading; see above) on the necessary condition of the Christ to both suffer and rise.   My study bible reminds us that it is only a partial faith to include one without the other.  The remission of sins, according to my study bible, refers to the putting away of sins in baptism, which is preached by St. Peter at Pentecost (see Acts 2:38).

"Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."  The Greek for endued with means to "put on" as in putting on clothing.  It is the same verb used in Ephesians 6:11, which indicates the complete protection of spiritual armor.  The word in Greek for tarry means literally to sit down, which my study bible says is an instruction not only to stay in place, but also to take rest and to prepare attentively before a great and difficult task (compare Mark 14:32).  The Promise of My Father is the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:4). 

And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.  Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up to heaven.  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God.  Amen.   Bethany, we recall, is east of Jerusalem, and was the home of Lazarus and his sisters, Lazarus being the one whom Christ raised from the dead (see John 11).  The Ascension of Christ is celebrated forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).  My study bible notes that this event fulfills the type which was given when Elijah ascended  in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11).  This marks the completion of Christ's glorification and lordship over all creation, all of the cosmos.  At the Incarnation, my study bible says, Christ brought His divine nature to human nature.  But in the Ascension, He brings human nature into the divine Kingdom, essential to our understanding of our place in the entire order of life itself, "seen and unseen," as human beings.  My study bible says that He reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit in His glorified body, revealing His glorified human nature -- even human flesh -- to be worshiped by the whole angelic realm.  An Orthodox vespers hymn of this feast proclaims, "The angels were amazed to see a Man so exalted."  In many icons and other depictions of the Ascension, Christ's robes are tinted with red, indicating the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world, and also the ascent of that life-giving blood into heaven (Isaiah 63:1-3; see also Psalm 24:7-10).

Our Gospel comes to an end in today's reading.  But this is not an "end" in a conventional sense, and it's not an "end" also because of the ways in which the Greek of the Gospels renders our understanding of what "end" truly means.   For in the language of the Gospels, and also in the truth of the story of the Gospel and Jesus Christ, "end" has a particular meaning.  In Luke 22:37, Jesus says that "the things concerning Me have an end."  This word for end is τελος/telos in the Greek.  Telos does not mean "end" in the sense of the English word.  Telos, rather, means "end" in the sense of fulfillment.  It is an end because it is fully completed, it has gone as far as it can go, the fullness of a drawn out process -- that means only that all the things of Christ are fulfilled.  And that "end" of Christ is Ascension, which is but a beginning, and a beginning to an infinite and absolute change that we cannot comprehensively know nor categorize, so much does it affect the very foundation of all things, including the spiritual world and the Kingdom.    Telos is an end in the sense of the aim, purpose, or goal of something.  And here we come to our sense in which this is the "end" of the story of Christ.  It begins the "end times" in which we still live, in which the Kingdom of God and the work of the Holy Spirit in the world (the Promise of My Father) continue their unfolding, and the mission of the Church.  It is the "end times" in which Christ's glorified humanity becomes a part of heaven, of the Kingdom, and the angels are astonished, for even they did not expect this kind of end -- which is in reality a new beginning which is always being fulfilled.  It is a revelation of our very natures and what they might be made for.  In the Ascension, we find the hope of Christianity, for if humanity in the person of Jesus Christ is glorified, then we, too, may follow, as He has taught us:  "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself" (see John 12:31-33).  Christ's Ascension as an "end" teaches us that all of our "ends" may also be but beginnings, for in Him all things are transcended.  We are not left merely with an ending, but rather a kind of infinite beginning that traverses all limitations in and of the nature given to Christ even as Jesus, in His humanity, and therefore to the rest of us.  The gift of the Holy Spirit will secure for us an infinite kind of creativity, whereby we are assured that when we are crucified by the world, when we carry our own crosses and something dies for us in our lives, whatever it may be, we still have a future -- with faith -- that we can't calculate in its possibilities.  We have a future that transcends our own expectations of limits and ends, for we are clothed with purpose, a future fulfillment, a face and identity we don't yet know (Revelation 2:17).  For the Holy Spirit and Promise of the Father becomes an infinitely creative and un-limiting force, one that connects us with a whole communion of saints, a Kingdom, and a living Way to go forward and to fulfill our true nature.  This is the nature of the life in Christ, which we secure through the communion He has given us, the Eucharist ("thanks" in Greek), and our faith -- for all of which we must be truly thankful, if we can but carry the cross to realize that any worldly end is just the start of a new beginning for us as well.  We live in this time of fulfillment.  We must remember that all good things take time; this living way is not a magic trick, but one which unfolds.  Let us continue to find its meanings and new starts -- and not to fear even its "ends."

Rise, take up your bed and walk

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. 

And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to him, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."   The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."   Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. 

- John 5:1-18

Yesterday, we read that after spending two days with the townspeople at Jacob's well in Samaria He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet had no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  The feast in this chapter is considered to be the Feast of Weeks, the Old Testament Pentecost, which celebrates the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.  The references to the Law of Moses later in this chapter confirm the interpretation.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  This was a double-basin pool, believed to have curative powers.  My study bible tells us that it has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.  The water for this high-ground pool came from underground springs and was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  This pool functions as a "type" of Christian baptism, my study bible adds.  Under the old covenant, a great multitude waited to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  These waters were special in that they were a way of indirectly participating in the animal sacrifices of the temple, since the animals were washed in the same water.  But this grace was limited to the first person to enter.  In the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations as direct participation in Christ's sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6), without the mediation of angels.  Thereby, baptism gives healing of the soul and the promise of eternal resurrection of the body, with a grace that is inexhaustible.

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.   This is the third sign of seven in John's Gospel.  According to commentary by St. John Chrysostom, this man who had waited for thirty-eight years was singled out by Jesus in order to teach us perseverance, and as a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles that last a far shorter time.  Jesus asks, "Do you want to be healed?" for several reasons.  First it makes clear to all the fact that this man kept his faith even in a situation that seemed hopeless.  How could a paralytic be the first into the water?  Secondly, Jesus draws attention away from the water and toward the need we have for someone to help us.  This "someone" is fulfilled in Christ Himself, who became Man, says my study bible, in order to heal all.  Finally, and importantly, not everyone who is ill actually desires healing.  There are those who prefer to remain infirm in order to complain, avoid responsibility for their lives, or continue exciting the pity of others, each a kind of "currency" in itself.   The question also invites a kind of prayer; regardless of the fact that Jesus knows all about us, and knows better than we do what we actually need, we often find in the Gospels that He asks of those who benefit from His grace to state exactly what they desire.

And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to him, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.   The Law itself does not specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, but this is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:27.  It is also explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.  That Christ is Lord over the Sabbath is clear from His command ("Rise, take up your bed and walk") and by the man's immediate obedience.  (See also Matthew 12:1-8.)  We note once again that John uses the term Jews to refer to the leadership and not to the people in general (after all, all the characters here, including Jesus, are Jews).  My study bible points us to the malice of these leaders:  all they focus on is the Sabbath violation, wanting to find "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your bed'?" but ignoring altogether this man's extraordinary and joyous miraculous healing.

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  That this man was found by Jesus in the temple shows his great faith, says my study bible.  He had gone there directly to thank God for his cure, rather than departing to someone's home or to the marketplace.  Jesus tells him, "Sin no more" as a way of affirming the divine help he's been given, and maintaining this communion with God.  My study bible adds that while there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), it's not always one-to-one, because in our world the innocent often suffer and the guilty are often spared earthly sufferings.  Sometimes, however, our sins do lead directly to our own suffering in the world.  For St. John Chrysostom, this was the case with the paralytic.  But Christ's warning also teaches us that the sins that destroy the soul give us a worse result than affliction of the body.  Our hope is to flee from sin altogether.

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."   Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.   This man doesn't report Jesus to the leaders in a malicious way, but rather as a witness to the goodness of Christ.  Even those these leaders were only interested in the violation of Sabbath, the healed man asserts that it was Jesus who had made him well, and says nothing about carrying his bed.  The leaders understand that Jesus' words imply absolute equality with God. 

Here we have a miraculous pool, with a sort of "enchanted" quality to modern ears, one in which the sheep are bathed for the sacrifice.  There are many who desire to go down into it; all are waiting to be first, because it is only the first who is said to be healed.  We are given an image of the desperation of mankind for help and assistance, some kind of holy water or bath which can help them, available in this basin only once in awhile -- and only for the first one in.  There is competition here, and limitation, and loss, and heartbreak, and even a kind of injustice.  (Why are not all healed?)  But Christ comes offering the living water He spoke of to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (see readings from Saturday and Monday).  He comes with a grace which, as my study bible says, is inexhaustible.  It's for all people.  He offers a kind of faith, a steadfast love that won't let go.  It's also important that we think back to something else He told the Samaritan woman, that "the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."  In this kind of relationship, this kind of worship in spirit and truth, one need not be only in one particular place and at one particular time.  Rather it is God who determines those times and places, and God is limited by nothing.  The grace of the living water that Jesus brings into the world in not only inexhaustible, it is unlimited by any worldly reality.  It is reliant only on God and on our communion with God.  It's important to note that Jesus asks the man in today's reading if he wants to be healed.  Certainly a man waiting there for decades seems to want to be healed!  But being able to articulate what we want from God is part of our communion.  Jesus lets us know this is not a one-sided relationship:  we have our part to play, we must engage with God ourselves, we must seek dialogue.  It is in that communion that we know God's love, and that we find ourselves.  Let us remember the inexhaustible grace that comes from this love, that the One who is sent to us brings.