Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Pascha: The Healing of the Paralytic
Gerald Largent
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
On this Fourth Sunday of Pascha, the Church calls us to contemplate the Gospel account of the healing of the paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1–15). For thirty-eight long years, this man lay helpless, waiting for someone—anyone—to help him into the waters when they were stirred. But none came. Until Christ.
The words of the paralytic ring out with aching loneliness: “Sir, I have no man…” In those few words, we hear not just his personal sorrow, but the cry of all humanity burdened by suffering, sin, and isolation. In a world filled with people, he had no one. Yet, the Lord—God in the flesh—comes not only with healing but with presence. Where there was no man, God Himself becomes “the Man” who answers the cry of the heart.
This Gospel is a profound reminder that Christ meets us where we are: in our paralysis, our spiritual dryness, our weariness, our waiting. He asks a simple but piercing question: “Do you want to be made well?” It is a question not only of desire but of readiness. Are we prepared to rise from the old patterns of life? Are we ready to be changed—not just physically, but spiritually?
The healing of the paralytic is not merely a miracle of the body, but a call to transformation. “Rise, take up your bed, and walk,” Christ commands. And in obedience, the man is made whole. So too must we rise—from sin, despair, and apathy—and walk in the newness of life that the Risen Christ offers. The bed that once held the paralytic becomes the symbol of victory: he carries what once carried him.
As we continue in the joy of the Paschal season, let us remember that we are not alone in our struggles. Christ has come into our world, into our suffering, and He speaks healing into our lives. Let us be attentive to His voice, respond with faith, and walk boldly in the light of His Resurrection.
Kontakion of the Sunday of the Paralytic
"I am grievously paralyzed, O Lord, and I have no man to put me into the healing pool. But as You are compassionate, heal me, O Savior, that I may cry out to You: Glory to You!"