Cure of the Official's Son

Readings for Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Today’s Gospel, though short and simple, is really quite remarkable. Not only do we see a man who would not take “no” for an answer from Jesus, we see Jesus heal this man’s son from a distance.

Like the woman who begs for the “scraps from the table” this man shows his faith even when Jesus appears to try to brush him off. The man begs and Jesus basically tells him “no, you just want signs and wonders”. Yet the man does give up. He simply says, “Sir, come before my child dies.” It as if he is willing to suffer anything from Jesus or anyone else if only his child will live. Parents would do well to contemplate the faith and perseverance of this man!

Jesus, who is impressed by the man’s insistence heals the child but from a great distance. We are told that the man’s servants met him on the road the next day implying that the man had traveled more than a days journey (22 miles from Capernaum to Cana). I would not even ponder the thought of him waiting through the night if he is like most parents I know. The servants tell him when the child became well again and it was the exact hour that Jesus had spoken to him.

Jesus saved more than the boy’s life. He saved the entire family of the official for “he himself believed, and all of his household.”

Lent is a time of perseverance. It is a time to keep believing even when it is difficult. It is a time to have faith even when it seems that Jesus has turned His back on us. With the eyes of faith we can see, that though He has His back toward us, He is not walking away from us, He is leading us – to Calvary. We must climb the hill if we expect to climb out of the tomb!