Spiritual Wellness

Homily for Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Lent

Today’s Gospel text tells the story of the man at the Pool of Bethesda. There are seven so-called miracles in St. John’s Gospel. St. John refers to them as “signs,” but they are miraculous in no uncertain terms. Four of those seven involve healing miracles. We heard the first of these signs in yesterday’s Gospel text; namely, the healing of the Roman official’s son.

An interesting aspect of the four healing miracles in St. John’s Gospel is that each of them escalates the kind of healing in which Jesus engages. In the first miracle, the boy has a fever that seems to be draining his life away. There is no indication of how long the boy has been ill. In the healing miracle that we hear today, St. John specifically states that the man has been ill for thirty-eight years. The third miracle involves a man born blind. The fourth finds Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Notice that with each successive healing miracle, the length of the illness increases until someone actually dies and is raised to life. Obviously, there is no limit to Jesus’ power to heal.

We hear much about artificial intelligence of these days. Most of what we hear leads us to be suspicious of this particular advance in technology. However, artificial intelligence is not necessarily evil. For instance, artificial intelligence defines spiritual wellness as “a state of well-being that encompasses a person's beliefs, values, and purpose in life. It is finding meaning and connection to something greater than oneself, whether it be a higher power, nature, community, or personal values.” In addition, artificial intelligence also states that there are six components involved in spiritual wellness. These include a sense of purpose and meaning, a connection to something greater, adhering to a set of principles that guide one’s actions and decisions, inner peace and harmony, gratitude and compassion, and engaging in activities that include prayer, meditation, spending time in nature, and participating in religious services.

Jesus asks the man at the Pool of Bethesda, “Do you want to be well.” He puts the question to us today as well. Whoever designed artificial intelligence must have understood the answer to this question, for all of the things that are included in that definition would fit very well into our Christian mindset. The healing power of Jesus is extended to us today through the gift of the Eucharist. As we receive his body and blood today, let us also ask for spiritual wellness.