John 5.1-16 – Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
A man stopped for many years a few steps from a swimming pool which, according to the belief of the time, could have put an end to his despair. Yet he never manages to get there. The Gospel says that he had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. His legs literally can’t carry him all the way to that pool. This image describes it well also the condition of many of us. We often understand with our mind what would be right to do, but we realize that we have a paralyzed will, incapable of translating what we have understood into concrete choices. We know where the “pool” of our life would be, but we remain still. Jesus approaches this man and asks him a decisive question: “Do you want to get well?”. At first glance it seems like a useless question. It is evident that the man desires healing.
Nevertheless Jesus touches a strong point: the fundamental question is not just receiving a grace, but asking yourself if you really want it. In fact, receiving a grace changes your life. It means no longer being able to remain in the position of the victim, no longer being able to hide behind one’s own story, no longer being able to remain still on one’s couch. Grace restores freedom, and freedom demands responsibility. Receiving a grace means having the possibility to choose again, to make decisions, to put one’s life on the line.
This is why Jesus’ question is so serious: do you really want to get well? Are you willing to assume the consequences of the freedom you will receive? How many times do we too we pray asking for changesbut we don’t know if we are really ready to take responsibility for those changes. What do we really want? This is the question that the Gospel asks us. Yet that man, at a certain point, gets up and begins to walk. He receives health again.
We could say that he finds his will, his freedom. But Jesus, meeting him again, warns him: “Do not sin again, so that something worse does not happen to you.” The greatest risk, in fact, is not having been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. The greatest risk is receiving a new life and not knowing how to make good use of it. Freedom is an immense gift, but it asks to be cherished. Because true healing isn’t just walking again: it’s learning to go in the right direction.
Tuesday 17 March 2026 – (Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent)
