Do you want?

“When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,“Do you want to be well?”.” (J 5:6)

To be well. Especially for a man, who has been ill for 38 years. “He had been ill for a long time”. Jesus saw him and asked him: “do you want”? Our Lord can see in us all our illnesses. And He has the same concern for all of us. He asked him and He is asking each of us. So sensitive (“Jesus saw him lying … and knew that he had been ill”), so delicate.

Our Lord invited the man to be a part of his healing. He does not save us without us. He respects our dignity, He needs our answers, our cooperation. Even if finally “the man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath” (J 5:15-16). He gave him all the best without expecting anything in return. Gift, not demand.

“A clean heart create for me, O God; give me back the joy of your salvation”. (Verse before the Gospel)