HEALING GRACE OF BAPTISM
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We have been plunged into the water of baptism and
are on the way to our full cure, shown in the Resurrection of Jesus.
Water, water, everywhere! First, Ezekiel writes about the trickle coming
from the south side of the temple, which grows deeper as it flows southward.
Finally, emptying into the Deep Sea and making it fresh. Trees grow all along
the side of it, offering shade and fresh fruit in a symbolic return to the
conditions of the Garden of Eden. There is a raging sea in the Responsorial
Psalm, from which God protects the people, as well as a delightful river whose
streams "gladden the City of God" (Ps 46:5b). In the Gospel of John,
the water is limited to the pool in Jerusalem called Bethesda, where "the
blind, lame, and crippled" (Jn 5:3b) gather, with the hope of being cured.
Please take the time to read the rest of this Gospel story.
What can we make of all this today? We see here the life-giving
qualities of water enumerated: water makes possible the growth of the trees
which produce our food and often our medicine. The man who had been sick for
thirty-eight years waits to be lowered into the curing waters of the pool.
Jesus, the Source of all that curative power, heals him. This water transforms
everything it touches; it brings life, healing, and restoration, but only if
one trusts, has faith, and accepts the will of God. We have been plunged into
the water of baptism and are on the way to our full cure, shown in the
Resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus Christ manifests His power and saving grace towards those who
desire a transformation of life in Him. The Lord Jesus approaches each of us
with the same probing question: "Do you really want to be changed, to be
set free from all your bad habits which cause you to sin? Do you want to be
transformed in holiness?"
Change my heart, O God, and renew in me Your love and goodness!