15-Mar-21

Gospel JN 4:43-54

At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee.
For Jesus himself testified
that a prophet has no honor in his native place.
When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,
since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast;
for they themselves had gone to the feast. Then he returned to Cana in Galilee,
where he had made the water wine.
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,
he went to him and asked him to come down
and heal his son, who was near death.
Jesus said to him,
"Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe."
The royal official said to him,
"Sir, come down before my child dies."
Jesus said to him, "You may go; your son will live."
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
"The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon."
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
"Your son will live,"
and he and his whole household came to believe.
Now this was the second sign Jesus did
when he came to Galilee from Judea.

Reflection

Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,
he went to him and asked him to come down
and heal his son, who was near death.

I doubt the “royal official” was trying to determine whether Jesus was truly the Son of God; his son was "near death.” Surely the father’s only thought must have been, "Can this man save my boy?”

Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe."

Jesus' frustration was evident, but the father whose son was dying did not take offense. He could not afford to be proud for his only concern was that his son should live.

The royal official said to him,
"Sir, come down before my child dies."
Jesus said to him, "You may go; your son will live."
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.

Jesus does not speak to us directly as He did to the father in today’s Gospel.
Our faith must spring from hope.

While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
"The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon."
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
"Your son will live."

Is my faith in Jesus strong enough that I can continue to realize my prayers will be answered, perhaps in ways I never could have imagined?

Do I have the faith to pray, “Please God, not my will but Your will be done?”

“The wisdom of God is often seen most clearly in the rearview mirror.” Unknown