***
Gospel: John 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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Today’s Gospel provides a beautiful image of the Christian life.
***
A desperate father approaches Jesus, begging him to heal his son. Adding to this father’s anguish was the 20-mile journey he made on foot from Capernaum to Cana, praying for a miracle.
When he finally approaches the Lord, he says, “Come down before my child dies.” But this father is only given the promise, “You may go; your son will live.”
I’m sure anyone would’ve wanted proof; something more than a promise; some sign that the boy was okay.
But Jesus invites this desperate father to journey home in peace; to walk, not run; to trust that what he said, was, in fact, done.
***
That father’s 20-mile journey back home from Cana to Capernaum is a fitting image for the Christian life – for your journey and for mine.
***
The Lord promised us at our baptism, “Whoever believes in me and is baptized will be saved.” We’ve been given the gift of eternal life! It’s what we will celebrate at Easter.
While we may desire more proof, we’re invited to trust like this father, that what Jesus says will be done.
The more we trust him, the easier and more peaceful our journey becomes.
***
“You may go; your son will live,” the Lord says.
And so will we.
Thanks be to God.
***
***
Image credits: (1) King’s Church Birmingham (2) westend61 (3) The Stone Table