1After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Beth-za'tha, which has five porticoes. 3In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed. 5One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" 7The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going another steps down before me." 8Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your pallet, and walk." 9And at once the man was healed, and he took up his pallet and walked. Now that day was the sabbath. 10So the Jews said to the man who was cured, "It is the sabbath, it is not lawful for you to carry your pallet." 11But he answered them, "The man who healed me said to me, `Take up your pallet, and walk.'" 12They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, `Take up your pallet, and walk'?" 13Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you." 15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16And this was why the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did this on the sabbath.
This is a significant moment in Jesus' ministry that highlights themes of mercy, healing, faith, and conflict with religious legalism. The Pharisees were more interested in the law than an act of love and a display of faith. This is one of the places where Jesus suggests that we can lose sight of the bigger picture in preference for laws, routines and rituals. We must always consider why these laws, routines and rituals exist. In the passage, the paralytic was waiting for healing in the wrong place. One of my struggles at the moment is weighing up how much Catholic teaching falls into legalism, ritual and routine. Is it the wrong place for healing and can it be forgone in preference of actions that show love, sacrifice, mercy and faith? The challenge is not throwing the baby out with the bathwater OR being too quick to dismiss something I do not fully understand. Loving father, give me the prudence, fortitude and temperance and act out of love and mercy rather out of law. Amen.
ReplyDeleteThis is a deeply thoughtful and honest reflection. You’ve captured the essence of the passage beautifully—how legalism can sometimes obscure love, mercy, and faith. Your insight into the paralytic “waiting in the wrong place” is a powerful metaphor for the ways we sometimes seek healing or fulfillment in structures that may not ultimately serve us.
DeleteI also appreciate your awareness of the tension between tradition and faith in action. You’re not dismissing Catholic teaching outright but wrestling with how much of it nurtures love and mercy versus becoming an end in itself. That’s an important and humble struggle—one that many saints and reformers have engaged in. Your closing prayer is excellent because it seeks virtues that balance wisdom (prudence), courage (fortitude), and moderation (temperance) so that your choices are rooted in love rather than mere rule-following or reaction.
One thought: You might also consider how Jesus didn’t outright reject the Sabbath but reinterpreted its purpose—bringing it back to God’s original intent. Similarly, maybe the question is not whether Catholic teaching is too legalistic, but how it can be re-centered on love, mercy, and faith in a way that transforms rather than restricts.
I love where you’re going with this—keep wrestling with these big questions!