TAKE THE INITIATIVE

The spirit and values which guides Hope CommUnity Center, in Apopka, are gospel mandates. Love, hospitality, solidarity, and service are at the core of Catholic social justice teachings and as people of faith require us to offer a concrete response to the people who are suffering and to uncover the root causes of their life-threatening distress. Hope CommUnity Center is committed to the deeper and difficult discussion about the root causes of this migration and the need to address the push/pull factors which influence the desperate decision of poor suffering people, especially children, to make this risk-filled journey. Hope’s spirit and values are reflected in all of our services with a vision of community transformation.[1]

The prophet Ezekiel’s powerful vision features water, a necessity people require every day, especially in a land sometimes plagued by drought (1 Kgs 17:1), where water is a sign of life. The water flowing from every side of the temple, God’s own house, highlights that it is a source of life for the people. The water flowing from the temple “empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh” (Ez 47:8) suggesting that Israel is being given a new opportunity to live faithfully.

The Gospel, also, speaks of water, the waters at Bethesda as a source of healing—or at least rejuvenation. This story of the man, ill for 38 years, demonstrates how isolating illness can be, especially if a person lacks family support and has no one to assist him.[2] Jesus knowing asks, “Do you want to be well?” “I have no one to [help] me.” Jesus heals him, with the command: “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” (Jn 5:6-8)

This healing is an incredible lesson for us to never lose hope and always trust in God. These powerful words enabled the man to take the initiative to reclaim his life.  They also remind us that along with our own initiative, we must trust in God’s will to lead us where we are meant to go, and just like the man at the pool, we may need to acknowledge we can’t always do it alone.[3]

There’s a couple more weeks to Lent. It’s the ideal time to take the initiative to allow the living waters of our Baptism, so often polluted by sin, to be refreshed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Trusting in God’s mercy. It’s also a time to discern, who and how can I offer myself to aid someone, some organization, that provides a helping hand up to people in need. Going deeper, like the mission of the Hope CommUnity Center, to provide concrete action to support the healing of a person in need, thus enabling them to take the initiative to reclaim their life

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[1] https://www.hcc-offm.org/, “Our Values”

[2] Weekday HomilyHelps, Exegesis by Sarah Kohles, OSF, PhD

[3] Ibid, Homily Suggestion by Eileen Connelly, OSU