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:
“At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee.
For Jesus himself testified
that a prophet has no honor in his native place.”
We may recall when Jesus first preached in His native Galilee, the people rejected him saying, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.” (Mark 6:3)
In today’s gospel, the people having seen now believed : “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.”
Once again, he was being approached to perform a miracle by a royal official who was begging Him to come and heal his dying son.
Frustrated, Jesus replied, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
Desperate with worry for his son’s life, the royal official swallowed his pride and pleaded with Jesus, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”
The next line in today’s gospel is the key to our entire faith.
“The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.”
We are told to pray with an “expectant faith.”
Do I have the faith of the “royal official” in today’s gospel?
Can I walk away and leave my prayer with Jesus trusting that God will bring about His will and make all things right?
“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” Matthew 7:7