a rose bush waiting to be planted march 2005

March 7, 2005

Healing 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.

The child was dying and the child recovered. Jesus told the father of the boy that he would live. In this story, Jesus heals without touching the sick boy. He tells the one asking for healing that the boy will live. The man accepted what Jesus said as true not knowing till he met those people of his household that in fact what Jesus said happened at the time he said to the man that it would.

The healing is a sign of the divinity of Jesus. Yet he is a prophet in his native land and without honor. How is it that he could turn water into wine and heal a dying boy from a distance and yet so many would still question and reject him even in the face of now two very clear signs that he is from and of God.

I can't help but think also that the rejection of Jesus by the people of Galilee is a lesson to us. Those who know us the most closely, our "home team" people are the most likely to show a lack of belief toward us. It seems to be the old familiarity lowers appreciation. Or perhaps more closely, the treasures that we have are often overlooked while a stranger's eye beholds them with wonder. The most important message that I would like to carry from the reading today though is that I need to let go of any doubts and just be open to believing that God is healing and providing for me. I need to banish any fear or doubt and stand steadfast in faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God the Father today.