In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Christ is risen!
I have been washed, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, and I have been cleansed in the waters of baptism: and while I may have to wait for full freedom from physical affliction, I have been freed from the spiritual paralysis holding me back. And I rejoice that the Saviour has incorporated me into his Body, the Church, that I may partake of the Bread of Life. (John 6:35, 48)
Yet my offering to the Lord is not whole, is not complete. I want to step away from his Church when it suits me, knowing she will be there on my return. I want to return and examine, partake in and enjoy, the offerings of this life and then I will come back to the Lord: he “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth,” (First Timothy 2:4) and will open his arms to me as to the Thief, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
Yes, indeed, my offering is not whole, is not complete. And the Lord finds me in his Temple and says to me, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you.” Yes, I will continue to sin, but I must not justify sinning, I must not make excuses, since I know not the day when the Lord will say to me, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you.” (Luke 12:20) Because to be a Christian is to make a stand against sin, “I do not accept your power over me and I will fight,” for I am to join the Victory of Christ not as a spectator but as a soldier.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord has cleansed us, purified us and healed us. And we are works in progress. He is saying to each of us, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you.” And if we try to do this alone, we will fail. And if we get discouraged and give up when sin has a small victory, we will fail. But if we rise together, as one Body, and face sin square in the face, if we encourage each other to rise up again when sin makes us fall to the ground, if we make no excuse for sin but are accountable for our own sins and repent of them, then victory is assured.
Let us, dear brothers and sisters, make our offerings to the Lord complete—our time, our talents, our money and our energy—not stepping out whenever the pleasures of this life call us but remaining steadfast as soldiers of Christ that we may leave no room for sin and be inheritors of eternal Life.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
That we may all praise, honour and worship our God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who has defeated idolatry, sin and death, together with his unoriginate Father and the All-holy, Good and Life-creating Spirit. Amen.
In those days, as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints that lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Now there was at Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him entreating him, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter rose and went with them. And when he had come, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping, and showing tunics and other garments which Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, rise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then calling the saints and widows he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
— Acts of the Apostles 9:32–42
At that time, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda which has five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and troubled the water; whoever stepped in first after the troubling of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your pallet, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his pallet and walked. Now that day was the sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, it is not lawful for you to carry your pallet.” But he answered them, “The man who healed me said to me, ‘Take up your pallet, and walk.’ “They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your pallet, and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
— John 5:1–15