Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. John 5:8-9
Piety
Life-giving God, restore us with the gifts of Your water, your earth, your fire and your your wind. Help us to be good stewards of Your creations, never mistaking the artificial for these real gifts that sustain and refresh us. Help us to know that these gifts alone are not enough to sustain us without the Words that come from the Lord Himself. Amen.
Study
Life-giving water.
Remember a time when you were thirsty? Perhaps it was a hot day and you were doing a lot of strenuous work. Or perhaps you were exercising hard and perspiring and needed to replace some of the fluids that you were losing.
A drink of cool water at those times relieves the dehydration that you were feeling when you body was low on water. It replenished you and helped you carry on with your task. We are “made fresh” after we get a drink of water or some water to splash on our face and body.
Today, water, life-giving water appears in both readings from the daily scriptures. Ezekiel described how the waters flow from the temple and make the arid desert spring to life. John describes how the man crippled from birth sought the effects of the waters at
In the third sign recounted in John’s Gospel today, water again figures prominently in the story as a symbol of God’s gifts to us…but a symbol which is incomplete without the word of Jesus.
Notes in the New American Bible explain the symbolism of Ezekiel. “The wonderful and superabundant stream flowing from the temple, restoring to fertility traditionally arid ground, is symbolic of the return of the conditions of primeval paradise; cf Genesis 2:10-14. Water signifies great blessings, just as dryness signifies a curse; cf Ezekiel 26:5, 14.”[i]
However, water alone has its limitations. The water of the pool fails to bring life to the man crippled from birth; it is only the words of Jesus that restore him to health.
Action
Look around your house or office. Are there some plants which have been neglected over the past few months of winter? Take a minute to bring in a container of water and add this to the soil packed in the flower pot. See how much of a difference one cup of water makes to the plant.
Recall how that one drink of water in the morning made you refreshed.
If you feel that good after one cup of water, take a minute before you begin the day and read the daily scriptures. Recall a time when one exposure to the Word of God in the morning made you refreshed.
Keep one phrase with you all day long (like “Be Made Fresh”). Repeat this phrase throughout the day to recall this scripture passage and be re-energized for the tasks ahead of you.
No comments:
Post a Comment