Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent 2023
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me,
"This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine."
-Ezekiel 47:7-9, 12
The Readings for this Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent are filled with water-related imagery and themes. Beginning with the vision of the Prophet Ezekiel (who saw streams of water flowing from the right side of the Temple) to the Gospel’s account of Jesus healing a paralyzed man at the Pool of Bethesda, we are invited to reflect on water as a symbol of salvation.
It is safe to assume that many homilies and commentaries on today’s Readings will focus specifically on the waters of baptism, and this is certainly appropriate in these days, as those preparing for baptism at Easter celebrate the Scrutinies and the other preparatory rites of the RCIA/OCIA process. But as we reflect on these rich texts, we can discover other themes for our prayer and reflection.
First, the water described in the Readings speaks to us of healing and vitality and the imagery we find in the passage from Ezekiel presents what Pope Francis called “holy water, the water of God, as abundant as the grace of God: ever abundant” (Homily for March 17, 2015). Even the traditions related to the healing powers of the Pool of Bethesdsa (which seem to find their origins in the ancient cult Asclepius), speak to us of how God used water to grant health and wholeness through the intervention of an angel who would stir the waters for the sake of the sick who gathered there. The water become a point of contact with Divine Mystery.
Le malade de trente-huit ans by James Tissot (1886-1894)
In the Gospel, we find a man who was defeated and deflated from suffering from a debilitating illness for thirty-eight years. Unable to reach the healing waters of the pool, we can hear the hopelessness in his voice as he says to Jesus, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me” (John 5:7). Jesus, however, takes pity on the man and shows him mercy, telling him: “Rise, take up your mat, and walk” (v. 8).
The abundance of God’s grace symbolized by the streams of water in Ezekiel’s vision are made real in the healing ministry of Jesus. The passage we hear today goes further, however, and demonstrates that Jesus is greater than the healing deity who had been formerly invoked on the site, and his power to heal surpasses even that of the angel sent by God to stir the waters for the benefit of the sick. His power, the gift of his grace, is his own and he offers wholeness and healing to those whom he chooses, especially for the sake of those who are dispirited and without hope.
Each of us have experienced the Lord’s mercy and love countless times in our lives. Through the saving action of Jesus, we are empowered to “get up” and to live in freedom, unhindered by the attachments or sins that prevent us from living life and faith to the fullest. Like the man in the Gospel story, we are invited to live this gift of mercy and freedom to the fullest, turning away from anything that might trip us up along the way.
May the venerable exercises of holy devotion
shape the hearts of your faithful, O Lord,
to welcome worthily the Paschal Mystery
and proclaim the praises of your salvation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
