Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe

 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 had also 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 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

On Saturday, we read the final section of the story of the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, and her encounter with Christ.  (See the readings of Thursday and Friday for the earlier parts of the story.)  At this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "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!  And 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."  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So, when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "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."

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 had also gone to the feast.  Jesus' own country is Galilee (1:46; 2:1; 7:42, 52; 19:19).  So central to the Gospels is this understanding that a prophet has no honor in His own country that it appears, in one form or another, in all four (see also Matthew 13:37, Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24).  Galileans were present at Jerusalem during the Passover festival reported earlier in John's Gospel (2:13-25).  This is the second time that John has disclosed to us that Jesus performed many signs at that feast, although we don't know specifically what they were.  While the Galileans received Christ having seen His signs, my study bible says, St. John Chrysostom gives more credit to the Samaritans (see Saturday's reading, above) for accepting Christ based on words alone without the accompanying signs (see also 20:29).

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."    Jesus is admonishing people in general here and not specifically the nobleman (you is plural both times).  My study bible tells us that faith based on miraculous works alone is insufficient for salvation.  This kind of incomplete faith quickly turns to scorn if the miracles cease (19:15).

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 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.  My study bible remarks that the nobleman's concern is clearly for his child, although his faith in Christ is weak.  He doesn't understand the true Lordship of Christ:  that He is Lord over illness even from a distance.  Neither does he understand that Jesus would have the power to heal even should the child die.  He inquires about the timing of the healing, still not completely trusting in Christ's authority.  But after all is confirmed he and his whole household believe.  In healing the child from a distance, therefore, Jesus not only heals the body of the child, but also the soul of this nobleman.

This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.  This is the second of seven signs that John's Gospel reports to us.  (We note that John also tells us Jesus did many other signs which he does not report in his Gospel.)  My study bible says that having revealed that He can see into the hearts of people from a distance (1:45-48), Jesus now demonstrates that He can heal from a distance.  This shows that His divine power knows no earthly limits.  While there are certain similarities between this sign and the miracle that is recorded in Matthew 8:4-13, there are also crucial differences.  These, it concludes, are clearly two different encounters.

The fact that there are no limits to Christ's power should tell us something very comforting, and also in which we can put our trust.  That is, there are no worldly obstacles to His power.  There is only the determination that God's will is to use power and authority in particular ways and for particular purposes.  By definition, God is so far beyond our own understanding and ways of being that what these purposes and ways are will remain mysterious to us.  Revelation is all about what it is that God chooses to give us and to teach us, both about ourselves and about God.  In today's reading, we're given to understand not only that God's ways are not our ways, but in particular that by applying a worldly way of thinking to Christ, we fail to know Him.  We fail to grasp what we are dealing with.  This is why faith is essential to our relationship and participation in the life He offers.  It is by faith that we begin to grasp something of God.  It is by faith that we are capable of sustaining this kind of relatedness and communion with Someone who is so far beyond what we are.  The demand for proofs is quite an interesting thing to think about, because there are indications here in this reading that reply to our constant demand.  John tells us clearly, in the words of Jesus, that "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe." Proofs put Christ down at our level.  We demand that God conforms to our expectations and judgment.  He will say to all who demand one that "a wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign" (Matthew 12:39, 16:4; Mark 8:12; Luke 11:29).  The connection through faith asks for something more and something different.  The food we desire is participation in Him, in the love and grace of God, in the work of the Spirit, in the communion of saints.  When we pray for our daily bread, this is a direct plea for the Eucharist and all that it means and adds to our lives and forms of community for us.  If we desire only proofs, we will never get enough to satisfy an impossible and spiritually infantile demand that does not recognize the love that is offered, nor the life it contains.  What is the work of faith?  How does it pull us and draw us?  What does it give us?  This is what we're asked through the Gospel today, and Jesus' words and teachings.

Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe

 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet had 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 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

Yesterday, we read the conclusion to Jesus' meeting with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well.   At this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or "Why are You talking with her?"  The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "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!  And 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."  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "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."  

Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet had 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' own country is Galilee.  This statement, that a prophet has no honor in his own country, is found in all four Gospels.  The Galileans who witnessed His signs in Jerusalem were those who were there for the first Passover recorded in John's Gospel (2:13-25).  Jesus, we were told, performed many signs there (see 2:23).  It's a kind of caution recorded here against those who rely on signs for faith.  In chapter 2 we were told that Jesus did not commit Himself to those who believed because of the signs.  St. John Chrysostom comments here that those who received Christ because of the signs they saw at the Passover feast are far less creditable than the Samaritans who accepted Christ based on words and teachings without the accompanying signs (see yesterday's reading, above).

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He 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."  You people here is plural.  Jesus admonishes the people in general (not the nobleman alone) for faith based in signs (or miracles).  This is insufficient for salvation.  It's an incomplete type of faith, which turns to scorn if the miracles cease (19:15).  We will see the repeated insistence on "proofs"  that He is Messiah by the leadership, who demand signs from Christ.

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.  My study bible says that the nobleman's concern is clearly for his child, although his faith in Christ is weak.  He doesn't understand that Christ is Lord over illness even from a distance, nor that Christ could heal the child even if he were to die.  He inquires after the fact about the timing of the healing, still not completely trusting the Lord's authority.  It is after all is confirmed that he and his whole household believe.  Earlier in John's Gospel we learned that Jesus sees into the hearts of people from a distance (1:45-48).  Here, He not only heals the body of the child from a distance, but also the soul of the nobleman.  This is the second of seven signs given in John's Gospel.

Jesus performs signs (or miracles) but in a sense He does so reluctantly.  They are never done to create faith.  They are never done as proofs of identity or power or authority, despite the fact of the constant demand (especially by the authorities who insist that He prove Himself).  In fact, one may conclude that His crucifixion comes about because He refuses to give proofs, and so is charged with blasphemy, but it's debatable that the envious religious leaders would have stopped plotting against Him.  But what we do take home, so to speak, from this reading is that Jesus' signs are done from compassion.  He provides wine at the wedding in Cana at the prompting of His mother, as the hosts have run out of wine (an essential element for the wedding feast).  Here He takes compassion on the nobleman who implores Him to heal his son who is at the point of death.  It's almost as if Jesus does so reluctantly, because of the problems with a faith that relies on and demands signs.  Faith must begin in another place within us.  Its true root in the Greek is trust, and trust does not come from proofs and signs.  Trust is akin to love, to a kind of loyalty in which one trusts out of a deeper sense of truth within the heart.  The demand for signs is a way to hold back, to impose one's own standards on that which we don't really understand, nor have we the immense perspective sufficient to judge God.  If our faith depends on miraculous answers, it's not really the kind of faith Christ asks us for.  It's not the stuff of endurance, and it won't build us up as human beings.  In the story of Job, we encounter a man who loses everything, but continues looking for an answer, and for his day face to face with God.  In the end, Job is satisfied with God's love, with that steadfast assurance of communion, even though God makes it clear that Job must trust and cannot understand a plan for all of creation that is beyond his capacities to comprehend.  It is in God's very questioning of Job that we come to know encounter, and the struggle with our faith.  So Jesus reflects this in His lament about those who demand signs.  Faith is based in communion, even a kind of struggle in which we are engaged with God and God is engaged with us.  That is what produces true character and endurance, the kind of love that echoes itself in human marriage, in which we struggle through love and engagement and, yes, our own transformation through time.  Let us remember the depths of the heart as the place where faith is and where love goes, beyond even what we can understand.  That is where God awaits and encounters us in faith.