Bible Study:
Ezekiel 47, 1 to 9 and 12. John 5, 1 to 3 and 5 to 16.
While reading
through today’s Gospel passage, I couldn’t help but notice what Jesus said to
the man he had just healed by the pool of Bethzatha: “See, you are well! Sin no
more, that nothing worse befall you.” This is the same Jesus who was told about
the Galileans whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices and he said: “Do
you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans,
because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all
likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon
whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were
worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No; but
unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13, 2 to 5.
As much as
God is not some sort of Policeman who inflicts punishment or disasters on us
for our sins, the Gospel truth is that there must be something about sin itself
that predisposes us to danger. Sin has
far-reaching consequences, both on us and on others. When we go through the
list of every possible sin, we can easily identify their physical consequences,
spiritual consequences, psychological consequences and even sociological
consequences.
In this
case, Jesus was warning the man to avoid sin so as to avoid something worse
happening to him. What else could be worse than having suffering from a
particular sickness for thirty-eight years? I mean this man had spent more than
half of his entire life-span in pain, discomfort and misery. He was so bitter
within him that when Jesus asked a simple question, “Do you want to be healed?”,
his bitterness got the better part of him and he started complaining how he is
unable to get into the pool before everyone else. That is what sickness does,
you know you are dying at the same time, you are hopeless and bitter. But Jesus
is saying, if we don’t avoid sin, something worse than such as physical
suffering would happen to us.
Every sin
carries with it death! The book of Proverbs made too much sense by putting it
in this way: “Can a man carry fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?
Or can one walk upon hot coals and his feet not be scorched?” Proverbs 6, 27 to
28.
Dear
friends, let us go to God’s house today and bathe from the river of God’s mercy
flowing from the sanctuary. Ezekiel describes the river in today’s first
reading. Each time we are in Church, it is an opportunity to wash ourselves
clean, drink with delight and begin afresh in the path of holiness. No matter
how we try to justify or give excuses for sin, it never pays in the long run. The
more we avoid it, the better for us.
Let us
Pray:
Lord Jesus,
give me the grace to take your warning to heart and leave sin behind. Amen.
God bless
you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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