Homily on John 5:1-16: The Pain of Loneliness

Homily on John 5:1-16: The Healing at Bethesda and the Pain of Loneliness (Tuesday, the 1^st of April, 2025) 

Praise be to Jesus Christ.

Once, a group of little sparrows lived in a tall banyan tree. Among them was an old sparrow who once guided the young with wisdom. But as he grew weak, the others became busy with their own lives. One evening, he sat alone, longing for a friend. A small sparrow noticed and called the others, saying, “He once cared for us, now let us care for him.” Moved by her words, they gathered around, bringing food and singing for him. He remained in silence for some time and they noticed that the old sparrows  eyes  were filled with tears, of course, it was  not because he was  very weak, but because he was loved.

It is a fact that, one of the worst experiences in life is loneliness and even the strongest person of the planet would hate it. Let me share with you a real life experience of a Pearson who met with an accident and was not able to walk. Initially, many of his friends visited him. They offered words of comfort and promised to help. But as time passed, the visits became less frequent. Eventually, many hours of the day he was left alone with his pain. One day one of his friends visited him and casually asked, “What must have given you more pain during the time of the accident and rest?” He replied, “Not my legs, but the loneliness. No one was here to lift me up and to speak with”.

In today’s Gospel, we see a similar situation. A poor and paralysed man had been lying near the pool of Bethesda. It was not for one or two days but for thirty-eight long years.  these long years made him paralysed not only in his body but also in his heart. At the moment, when Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be healed?” he did not say, “Yes, Lord.” Instead, with deep sorrow in heart, he just whispered, “I have no one to put me into the pool.” It means I have no one to help me. More than his sickness, his pain was his loneliness.

This is the pain of many today. When everything goes well, we have friends, relatives, and well-wishers. But when sickness, financial troubles, or difficulties strike, people disappear. Families suffer this loneliness; a husband or wife may feel unheard and unloved, parents may work hard for their children, yet in their old age, they are left alone, children may long for the attention of their parents, but they are too busy.

Jesus did not ignore the pain of the paralyzed man. He went to him. He spoke to him. He healed him. Jesus did not wait for the man to call out to Him. Instead, He took the first step. Just like Jesus let us all try to be good friends to those who are alone.

Generally, what we see is that when someone is sick or struggling in life, we may say with all compassion that, “Let me know if you need any help.” “Please feel free to ask “etc. Nevertheless, as time passes, generally, we forget and eventually ignore them. Jesus, in today’s Gospel teaches us to be different. He challenges us to be present with the needy, to stay with the sick, to walk with the lonely, to support those in need. This is a good act we can all practice during this Lenten season.

In the Old Testament also we see the compassionate and caring heart of God.  As the Israelites were suffering in Egypt, God did not ignore them.  Instead, He said, “I have seen the misery of My people. I have heard their cry. I have come down to rescue them” (Exodus 3:7-8). Like God the father, let us see, hear, and take action for those in need.

One busy day, an elderly father went into a mobile shop and handed his mobile phone to the shopkeeper and said, “Please check my phone, it does not ring.” The shopkeeper inspected it and replied, “Sir, your phone is working perfectly fine.” With a heavy heart and tears in his eyes the old man asked, “Then why is no one calling me?” and he went out of the shop struggling to control the tears.  Yes, Loneliness is one of the deepest pains a person can experience.

 As we are in Lenten season, let us take effort not to love  in words  alone but in deeds;  visit the sick not when many are there, but when no one is there, help someone financially if they are struggling,  make a phone call to your parents or a friend who is alone. Do not wait for someone to ask for help but be the first to reach out and be a HERO in the eyes of Jesus.

 One of the famous saying of the St. Teresa of Calcutta goes like this, “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but the feeling of being unwanted.”  If we open our eyes we could see, many around us, who are lonely, sometimes in our own families and communities, and try to be a sign of God’s love to them.

 Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, help me to be with need as You have been with them . Amen.

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God Bless…