Go your way; your son lives

Now after the 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

Over the past few readings, Jesus has been in Samaritan territory. He was traveling from Jerusalem -- the first Passover feast He attended in John's gospel -- to Galilee. On the way, tired and thirsty from traveling, He stopped at Jacob's well, while the disciples were in the city getting provisions for food. He asked a Samaritan woman to get Him a drink of water -- something extraordinary and unusual for a Jewish man! When she wondered at this, He said, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." Later, when she asks for this living water, He told her to go find her husband and bring him back. When she replied that she had no husband, He told her she had spoken correctly, that she had had five husbands, and the one she had now was not her husband. Because of this knowledge, she believed He was a prophet, and asked Him about the dispute between Samaritans and Jews regarding the proper place for temple worship. He said, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." When she replied that she knew all were awaiting the Messiah, Jesus said, "I who speak to you am He." On Saturday, we read of the return of the disciples, who were amazed to the point of speechlessness that Jesus was speaking to this Samaritan woman. The woman then went into the city, and told people about Jesus: "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" Meanwhile the disciples urged Jesus to eat, but He replied, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!" The townspeople, whom tradition holds to be dressed in white, come to Jesus, drawn in by the woman who was at the well. The townspeople told her, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world." Jesus stayed two days with them.

Now after the 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. Jesus is a Galilean. My study bible notes that the statement concerning the prophet without honor is reported in all four Gospels. These Galileans believe only because of what they saw Him perform at the Passover feast. John's gospel does not report any of these signs, but only His cleansing of the temple, and a discussion afterward with the Pharisee Nicodemus about being born again through baptism and the Spirit. In this dialogue, Jesus also spoke about His mission in the world, the statements that sum up the gospel message. John's gospel therefore emphasizes the true spiritual reality of Christ, and not the signs He performs.

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." We return to Cana, "where He had made the water wine," the first of His signs in John's Gospel. Cana, we will be told later on in this Gospel, is Nathanael's home -- Nathanael is the disciple who had to come and see Jesus for himself, and whom Jesus knew from afar. The story we read about the nobleman in today's reading bears some similarities to that of the centurion in other Gospels, but there are differences. Here, the royal official is meant to be a Herodian. But the emphasis here is on faith, and the nature of faith.

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." One thing we notice in the story, similar to the other gospel accounts, is the depth of love the nobleman feels for his sick child. His desperation becomes more acute when Jesus delays. It's like a repeated prayer; there is nowhere else to go, no one else to whom to turn. This official, unlike the Galileans, believes Jesus at His word. As he goes back to his house, his servants meet him and it's determined his son got better at the time Jesus told him, "Go your way; your son lives." This is presented by John as true faith -- not merely one based in the signs and wonders of Christ, unlike the Galileans, Jesus' countrymen.

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. It's notable that not only he, but his whole household believes. The gospel message returns to us emphasizing relationship and kinship. Jesus' countrymen do not believe, but here, the entire household of this nobleman become a part of Christ's family, the Church. This is the second of seven signs in John's gospel.

My study bible points out that as Jesus knew Nathanael at a distance, here in today's reading He heals at a distance. Space becomes a kind of consideration that is a barrier to us, but not to faith, and not to God's work in faith and in relationship to us. Jesus has said in recent readings that "the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." This was in response to a question that was about which particular place is necessary for true worship. Jesus' countrymen and kin are shown to be lacking in this type of faith in today's reading. Relationship, therefore, in this spiritual sense given us by John, is not about proximity or space. Neither is it, as we shall see, hindered by considerations of time. We can add these factors to the revelation of divinity in the signs of Jesus. Faith, then, bars all obstacles to relationship that we would consider limits on such. Truly, the question that begs to be asked here is, "What is faith?" And secondly to that, "What kind of faith is Jesus looking for?" We're given a hint in what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, about what kind of faithful God the Father is seeking -- those who will worship in spirit and truth. There are no conventional barriers here, but only relationship that goes straight to the heart of who we are, to our deepest places and also deepest needs. The nobleman, desperate to save his son, is barred by nothing to get the word of Christ to help. His prayer reaches to God -- God in the flesh, in the person of Jesus. Let us remember that his prayer is also for us; in spirit and truth, ours do the same. Can we understand and grow this faith relationship in ourselves? Can we accept the gift of living water?