Carmelite homily for Tuesday, March 24, 2020 – Lectionary 245 (John 5:1-6)
There’s an old saying: If nothing changes, nothing changes. That describes what’s going on in today’s Gospel. We have this lame man on the side of the pool in Bethesda waiting to be put into the water for healing – for thirty-eight years. And Jesus says, “Do you want to be healed?” and the man says, “No one’s put me in the water.” Nothing has changed in thirty-eight years. He’s not heard that Jesus is offering a different solution. Saint John of the Cross writes, “Travelers cannot reach new territory if they do not take new and unknown roads and abandon the familiar ones.” That’s the call of today’s Gospel. If you’re feeling stuck or just not right, maybe it’s time to try a new road? If nothing changes, nothing changes.
