Word to the Wise
Monday, March 15, 2021 - 4th Week of Lent - Mon
[Isa 65:17-21 and John 4:43-54]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. [John]
The gospel scriptures for this fourth week of Lent all come from the Gospel According to John (except Thursday, March 19, the feast of St. Joseph). The focus is on belief or non-belief. In the Gospel According to John the major sin is failure to believe in Jesus as the one whom God has sent. The most important point of the encounter in today's gospel scripture comes when "the man believed what Jesus said to him and left." The result is not only the healing of the sick child but that the royal official "and his whole household came to believe." Faith is not a matter of "signs and wonders" but belief in God.
I frequently hear folks say that they wish they had "more" faith and could trust God more. The royal official initially wanted Jesus to come in person to heal his sick child. He was asking for a "sign." It was only when he was willing to take Jesus' word for it that a "sign" took place. The child is healed but the real story is that Jesus' identity is revealed through the "coming to faith" of the royal official and his whole household.
This is not a matter of substituting faith for medical science. It is about our willingness to trust in Jesus' word to us in our own individual circumstances. Do we really believe that Jesus is the one whom God has sent? If we do, are we willing to live as he has taught us? A good reading of the Gospel According to John shows us one encounter after another in which someone "comes to believe." What is our own encounter with Jesus? If we say we believe in him as the one whom God has sent, what difference does it make to us and to our neighbor? AMEN