Homily/food for thought 

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Readings: Ezekiel 47:1–9, 12; Psalm 46; John 5:1–16

Introduction

Good day, my friend. Wherever you are watching from—perhaps in your kitchen, your office, or even lying in bed with your phone—this message is for you. Yes, you.

Let me begin with a little story.

A man once told his doctor, “Doctor, every morning when I wake up, I feel pain everywhere. If I touch my head, it hurts. If I touch my leg, it hurts. If I touch my stomach, it hurts.”

The doctor examined him carefully and finally said, “My friend, the problem is not your whole body… the problem is your finger is broken!”

Sometimes we think our whole life is the problem—everything is wrong, everything is stuck, everything is painful. But often the real issue is something smaller: discouragement, fear, loss of hope, or simply waiting too long for things to change.

Today’s Gospel speaks directly to that feeling.

The Word

In the Gospel, Jesus meets a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years. Imagine that—almost four decades of waiting, suffering, and disappointment.

The man lay beside the pool of Bethesda. People believed the water had healing power when it was stirred. But every time the water moved, someone else got there first.

Listen carefully to the man's response when Jesus asks him, “Do you want to be healed?”

He does not say yes immediately. Instead, he explains his problem:

“I have no one to put me into the pool.”

In other words:
“I am alone.”
“No one helps me.”
“Others are faster than me.”

How many people feel like that today?

But Jesus does something surprising. He does not carry the man to the pool. He does not wait for the water to move.

He simply says:

“Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”

And immediately the man is healed.

Now connect this Gospel with the first reading.

In Ezekiel’s vision, water flows from the Temple, and wherever the water goes, life appears. Trees grow. The desert becomes fertile. The water brings healing.

That water is a symbol of God’s grace—life flowing from God into the world.

And in the Gospel, Jesus himself is that living water. Healing does not come from the pool. Healing comes from Christ.

Three Practical Lessons for Today

1. Do not allow waiting to become hopelessness.

Thirty-eight years is a long time. The man probably believed nothing would ever change.

Sometimes we wait for healing, work, reconciliation, or peace.

But Lent reminds us: God is still working, even when we feel stuck.

2. Do not believe you are alone.

The man said, “I have no one.”

Yet Jesus was standing right next to him.

Many people say, “No one understands me.”
But God understands.
God sees you where you are.

Even now, watching this message, Christ is near you.

3. When Jesus says “Rise,” do something.

The man had to stand up and carry his mat.

Faith is not passive. Healing requires movement.

Maybe today your “rise” is simple:

• sending a message of reconciliation

• starting again after failure

• praying after a long silence

• choosing hope instead of despair

Small steps can begin big miracles.

Inspirational Quote

“God’s grace flows like water—wherever it reaches, new life begins.”

Conclusion

My friend, perhaps you have been waiting a long time for something to change in your life.

But today Jesus asks you the same question he asked that man:

“Do you want to be healed?”

And if your answer is yes, listen carefully to his words:

“Rise.”

Not tomorrow.
Not next year.

Today.

Prayer

Lord Jesus,
You are the living water that brings life wherever you flow.

You see the places in our lives where we feel stuck, tired, or forgotten.
Speak your healing word to us today.

Give us the courage to rise,
the faith to trust you,
and the strength to walk in new life.

Create in us a clean heart, O God,
and restore to us the joy of your salvation.

Amen.