Monday 4th week of Lent
"Jn 4:43-54"
An official whose son was ill...went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Jesus therefore said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my child dies." Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was living.
It is true that many people loved to see Your signs, Lord: they were spectacular! Blind people started to see, deaf people recovered their hearing, paralytics could walk again, loaves and fish were multiplied... But these signs always happened in front of You. The miracle in today's Gospel is different.
It is as if You, Jesus, are telling the crowd: 'Those of you who came looking for miracles are going to be disappointed. However, this man has faith and is not seeking any display of power; just the healing of his child'. You, Lord, said: "your son will live" and he believed You, even if he didn't see it. That is the faith that I'm asking for, Lord.
Have you watched Indiana Jones in 'The Last Crusade'? Indiana has to get across a seemingly bottomless chasm. All he sees is an insurmountable gap separating him from the other side with no logical way to get across. The 'historical guidebook', which he refers to, says crossing over will be 'a leap of faith' and his dying father (Sean Connery) whispers "You must believe, boy, you must believe." And so Indiana Jones does: he courageously extends his foot and then, thud, his foot lands on solid ground. The camera pans around to show a bridge that had been invisible to him before. You see? He summoned up enough faith to take a first step and then he could see the bridge. Our trust in God is always expressed in that first faithful step that we take. Although it's only a film, it provides an example of how we should trust in God, especially when we don't see what God sees.
Our Lady is a great example of Faith. She said 'Yes' to her vocation without knowing what was coming, with absolute trust in God. May we take after Our Mother in trust.
