Go your way; your son lives

Now after two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!" Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives." And he himself believed, and his whole household. This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

- John 4:43-54

In yesterday's reading, we read the continuation of Jesus' time in Samaria, and His encounter with the woman at Jacob's well. She testified to others about Jesus' encounter with her, how He told her "all that she ever did." Many came to believe through her, meeting Jesus and believing for themselves. Jesus counseled His disciples about their own missionary future, and taught them about the labor into which they enter - for which they have neither sown nor labored, but will reap the harvest. He said, "He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."

Now after two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast. The saying, "A prophet has no honor in his own country," is reported in all four Gospels. Here, it is referring to those who believe merely by being impressed by a sign, and not in true faith. It refers us back to earlier in the Gospel, when it was reported that many believed at the festival, but Jesus "did not commit Himself to them." Apparently, many who fall into this category were from Galilee, and were present at the festival in Jerusalem.

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." Once again, Jesus admonishes people about faith: it cannot be a product of signs and wonders, a kind of convincing through some great feat of power. Faith comes in other ways. The man is an official of Herod's court. My study bible points out that Cana, where the first great "sign" or miracle reported John's Gospel occurred, is also the home of Nathanael, whom Jesus knew at a distance.

The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives." So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. Here is an example of faith. The man believed Jesus at His word. Faith is a kind of trust, a recognition, something that responds in us to God through relationship. It is the start and growth of a relationship of love.

And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!" Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives." My study bible says, "Jesus has demonstrated, by identifying Nathanael from afar, that He could see at a distance (1:47-48). He now shows He can heal at a distance -- He can heal the unseen." The seventh hour is about 1:00 P.M. Merely from the words, "Go your way," the official believed and followed. This is the third time the words "your son lives" are reported. The account here is similar to accounts of others in positions of rank and hierarchy: they understand authority and service, and this also works through faith. As the man hears, understands, and accepts the word of Christ in faith, so his servants are also instrumental in carrying out that word. In these men of authority and of power, there is no conflict between their worldly authority and their acting on Christ's word. One can be used to serve the other, especially in carrying out responsible and caring governance and authority over others. It's also important that we understand by now that Jesus has had faithful followers among the Pharisees (Nicodemus), the Samaritans (the woman at Jacob's well and her fellow citizens), and now an official of Herod's court. There are no restrictions whatsoever to inclusion in faith. All that is required is a heart that can receive.

And he himself believed, and his whole household. This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee. Included in good stewardship and responsible authority is the care and protection of one's "whole household" - and so it is with this official. They are all received into the church in faith. Jesus' second sign, then, is a full conversion of many, each of us acting as instruments on behalf of others, just as Photini, the woman at Jacob's well in yesterday's reading, became the first evangelist and the Samaritans the first Christians.

How do we help to heal one another? How do we help to spread the word, and act as instruments of God's peace for one another? The question of good stewardship, responsible holding of worldly authority, also comes into play here. What do we do to live good and responsible lives in a world that may be filled with oppression or corruption in one form or another, and certainly is filled, even on the smallest scale, with violations or abuses of power? Our choice is within us, to have faith, and to bring that faith to others through our own example and through our lives in which we have a choice to be caring. Clearly, God's reality is one of love, as exemplified in today's reading. The official loves his son and is motivated by love to seek out the son's healing. That love, we cannot help but feel, is part of what prompts his faith in the word of Christ - and so his whole household, not just his son, is healed. Let us think about what it is to devote our whole hearts, our whole lives, to Christ, and how we live that life in the carrying out of our day-to-day tasks, how we care for others who may be under our authority in one way or another, and how we serve our faith and God by doing so. Each encounter is significant, from the smallest to the greatest, and one never knows what it will bring, or what effects it may have.