Invitation
May I hereby call your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation wants to share with you the joy of the Gospel.
Everyone, no one excepted,
can experience that joy by opening his heart
to the healing effect of God’s word.
Available every day.
CONSIDERATION
Since the Church Fathers, people have already sought a symbolic explanation for those 38 years, including a reference to the chosen people’s journey from the desert to their salvation (Deut. 2:14). In fact, one sees here
(as in many other stories, e.g. Nicodemus, the Samaritan, the bread speech) the typical Johannine double bottom or initial misunderstanding after which the deeper meaning then follows.
Indeed, the paralytic understands the question as if Jesus wants to help him get into the bath. The deeper sense is (of course) that Jesus is the only one who can save him.
FIRST READING Ez. 47, 1-9.12
I saw water flowing from the temple, and all who touched the water were saved.
From the Prophet Ezekiel
The angel of the Lord brought me back
to the entrance of the temple.
There I saw how from under the threshold of the temple there
was water flowing in an easterly direction :
For the front of the temple was facing east.
The water flowed under the right wing of the temple,
on the side of the altar.
Then he led me out through the north gate.
He led me out to the east side :
The water flowed from under the right wing.
Then, with a ruler in his hand,
he continued in an easterly direction.
He measured a distance of a thousand cubits
and then made me step through the water :
It reached up to my ankles.
Again he measured a thousand cubits
and made me wade through the water :
It came up to my knees;
and he measured another thousand cubits
and made me wade through the water again :
Now it came to my waist.
When he had measured another thousand cubits
the water had become a river
I could no longer wade through it;
the water was so deep that one could not walk through it,
but only by swimming.
Then he asked me:
“Do you see that, human child?”
Then he led me back
along the bank of the river.
As he led me back I saw
on both sides of the river
many trees.
The angel of the Lord said to me :
“The river flows to the plain in the east,
and then it flows to the Araba,
and then it flows into the Salt Sea.
From which the water becomes drinkable.
“Wherever the river flows
the aquatic animals will be able to stay alive.
There will be lots of fish,
because wherever the river goes
the water will become drinkable,
and everything will stay alive.
“On both banks of the river
all kinds of fruit trees will grow
whose leaves will not wither ,
and the fruits will not run out;
for the trees will bear fruit every month.
“After all, they will be fed with water from the temple.
“The fruit will serve as food
and the leaves as medicine.”
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 46(45), 2-3, 5-6, 8-9
The Lord of the heavenly armies is with us,
a safe fortress is our Jacob’s God.
The Lord is to us a fortress and refuge,
a mighty help in trouble.
Thus we are not afraid, though the earth tip over,
though the mountains fall into the sea.
A gurgling brook refreshes God’s city,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
That city stands unwavering, for God is within it,
God stands by her side as the day dawns.
The Lord of the heavenly armies is with us,
a safe fortress is our God of Jacob.
Come near and see what the Lord has done,
his wondrous works on earth.
VERSE FOR THE GOSPEL Ez. 33, 11
I am not pleased with the death of a wicked man,
saith the Lord,
but rather in him that repenteth and liveth.
GOSPEL John 5, 1-3a.5-16
At once the man became healthy.
From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
John
Because there was a feast of the Jews,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate there is a bathing establishment,
called Bezeta in Hebrew,
with five colonnades.
In those corridors there was always a large number of deficient people.
Now there was a man there who had been deficient for thirty-eight years.
Jesus saw him lying there
and because He knew that he had been lying like that for a long time He said to him :
“Do you want to get well?”
The sick man answered Him :
“Lord, I have no one to bring me
into the bathtub
when the water is moved,
and while I go
another before me descends into it.”
Thereupon Jesus said to him :
“Arise, take up your bed and walk.”
Instantly the man became healthy.
He took up his bed and walked.
However, that day was the Sabbath
and therefore the Jews said to the healed man :
“It is Sabbath ,
you may not carry your bed.”
To this he answered them :
“Who made me well told me :
Take up your bed and walk!”
Therefore they asked him :
“Who is this man who said to you :
Take up your bed and walk?”
The healed one did not know who it was,
for Jesus had withdrawn unnoticed
because there were many people at the scene.
Later Jesus encountered him in the temple and spoke to him :
“Behold, you are now healed!
“Sin no more
lest anything worse happen to you.”
The man went and told the Jews
that it was Jesus who had healed him.
Because Jesus did such things on the Sabbath
the Jews began to persecute Him.
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Laudato Si
Encyclic of
POPE FRANCIS
On the care of the common home
116. In modern times, there has been a remarkable anthropocentric excessiveness that, in a different guise, continues to undermine any reference to anything common and any attempt to strengthen social bonds. The time has therefore come to pay renewed attention to reality with its limits, which in turn represent the possibility of healthier and more fruitful human and social development. An inadequate presentation of Christian anthropology has ultimately fostered a misconception of man’s relationship with the world. A Promethean dream of ruling the world has often been passed on, which has given the impression that care for nature is something for weak characters. In contrast, a correct interpretation of the idea of man as lord of the universe is to understand this as responsible stewardship.
To be continued
The Bible text in this issue is taken from The New Bible Translation,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for the weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation