Grace Over Law!

Ez 47:1-9, 12; Jn 5:1-16

Today’s Gospel highlights Jesus’ compassion for the man at the Pool of Bethesda.

How does Jesus’ compassion work here?

When Jesus encounters the man who has been desperately waiting to get into the pool when the angel stirs the waters (thought to have healing powers), he asks him, ‘Do you want to be well?’ To our surprise, the man does not ask for healing from Jesus because he has not known Jesus before. However, the man’s response reveals despair, indicating his helplessness for nearly four decades. 

Jesus extends his helping hands to the man who feels that he has been let down. The passage also describes that Jesus knew that the man was ill for a long time. In other words, when no one paid attention to him and when everyone had let him down, Jesus held him up, knowing well that he would be persecuted for that man’s sake because all these took place on the Sabbath.

For Jesus, saying ‘Get up, take your mat, and walk’ is more valuable than his own life. It is this attitude that prizes the wellness of the marginalized above his own life that makes Jesus radically compassionate.

In a way, the passage also offers a reflection on God’s grace that, for humans, is a gift unearned. Here, we witness Jesus’ grace in action when he himself initiates the healing of the man without him asking for it. Also, the healing was not based on the man’s merit or faith (because the man did not even know who Jesus was). 

Let us pray that we may imbibe the spirit of Jesus to put on a compassionate attitude as a way of life. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar