The man had been paralyzed for 38 years. That’s a pretty long time. I bet he couldn’t see himself in any other way— until Jesus came along.

       For many people, their suffering or their poverty becomes their “safe zone.” They’ve gotten used to the pain and the poverty.

       Author Robin Sharma said, “The most dangerous place is your safe zone.” If you want growth in your life, you have to get out of your safe zone. Because your safe zone is the place for dead people.

       At the root of all ambivalence is fear of the unknown. No matter how painful suffering is, at least we’re familiar with it. That suffering has become our identity. When there’s an opportunity to get out of suffering, fear of the unknown grips our heart.

       The man’s paralysis was his identity, so much so that his mat became his master. His mat controlled him, not the other way around. Here’s my big question to you: What problem has become your identity?

       Jesus said, “Stand up and pick up your mat.” Don’t let your problem control you. Take control of your problem! Take charge of your sickness. Take charge of your debt. Take charge of your situation. Stand up! Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com)

Reflection: What is your mat? Does it control you or do you control it?

Free me, Jesus, from the mats that control my life. Grant me courage to face the unknowns in my life.

St. Hugh of Grenoble, pray for us.

Conversion is a slow process. We cannot expect our lives to be transformed in an instant when we choose to follow Jesus. Conversion, and the growth in holiness that accompanies it, is a step-by-step process that takes a lifetime. We never stop growing in faith and conversion. This is the nature of true faith: there is always another step. We will never exhaust the possibilities of the transforming power of God’s love until we meet Him face to face in heaven.

1 Then the angel brought me, Ezekiel, back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the facade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the right side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He led me outside by the north gate, and around to the outer gate facing the east, where I saw water trickling from the right side. 3 Then when he had walked off to the east with a measuring cord in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and had me wade through the water, which was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another thousand and once more had me wade through the water, which was now knee-deep. Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade; the water was up to my waist. 5 Once more he measured off a thousand, but there was now a river through which I could not wade; for the water had risen so high it had become a river that could not be crossed except by swimming. 6 He asked me, “Have you seen this, son of man?” Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit. 7 Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides. 8 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. 9 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. 12 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.”

R: The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

1 [2] God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. 2 [3] Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea. (R) 4 [5] There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High. 5 [6] God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed; God will help it at the break of dawn. (R) 7 [8] The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. 8 [9] Come! behold the deeds of the Lord, the astounding things he has wrought on earth. (R)

How can anyone in his right mind complain about the healing of a lame man, especially when the complaint is based on the fact that the miracle took place on the wrong day of the week? It is a ridiculous complaint to make and it clearly demonstrates that the case being framed by the Jewish leaders against Jesus lacks substance.

A clean heart create for me, O God; give me back the joy of your salvation.

1 There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. 3 In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. [4] 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “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.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” 9 Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” 11 He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’ ” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” 13The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. 14 After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. 16 Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.

ONE ON ONE

And so we are into another Lenten Season together! Let us note, though, that our Gospel story tells us about Jesus singling out a crippled man among so many by the Pool of Bethesda. This man, ill for 38 years, became the recipient of a life-changing encounter with Jesus, who engaged him in a dialogue and who finally rewarded him with a discreet cure. Amazingly, though, the man at first did not know that it was Jesus whom he had met and who had cured him. Jesus had to reveal Himself to the man a second time, for him to recognize that it was the Lord.

       Lent, our 40-day preparation for Holy Week, though a liturgical journey with the Church, is a call for us to open up to a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus. The Church, in fact, has retained the traditional period for 40 days for this solemn and sober season because 40 days used to be the conventional time for a retreat. In fact, during this season, religious of the contemplative tradition such as the Carmelite monks and Poor Clare nuns, still stick to their 40-day seclusion for Lent, and they entertain no visits until Easter.

       Though we are men and women of the world, busy with family and business affairs, Lent is a season when we are called to enter into a period of personal and individual retreat — through moments of daily meditation with the Word of God, coupled with more intense prayer times. This way, we open ourselves and we create a space for “The God of the Encounter” to also minister to us in our individual needs and brokenness. This is one beautiful thing I most appreciate about God — He is never overwhelmed by numbers!

       As the line of a song says: “He still finds the time to hear a child’s first prayer... He knows every lie that you and I have told.” Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

REFLECTION QUESTION: Should our Lord Jesus Christ appear to you during these times, what are the first things you wish to tell Him personally? Make a schedule for a “daily retreat” — an hour of Bible reading and prayerful dialogue with Jesus — for the rest of Lent.

Help me to be faithful to my daily retreat, Lord.