Faith When It's Needed Most

John 4.43-end

When the two days were over, he went from that place to Galilee (for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honour in the prophet’s own country). When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for they too had gone to the festival.


Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.’ The official said to him, ‘Sir, come down before my little boy dies.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, ‘Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.’ The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.


Reflection

As we think about the people of Japan, coping with the destruction wrought by an earthquake and tsunami, it’s worth remembering the royal official who turned to Jesus for help. Confronted with the imminent death of his child, the man looked to one who had a reputation for working miracles – and when told he wouldn’t believe unless he saw signs, he responded not with agreement but a request that Jesus help his boy. Rather than succumb to despair, the man turned to faith. He chose to believe that he was not alone, that there was one who would stand by him.


Watching video of an unfolding natural disaster can leave us feeling powerless and alone. We might yearn for divine intervention to set everything right. Our faith encourages a different response. We are not powerless and our God is not a magician. Instead he is one who has come to share our lot, to offer us a source of strength and comfort during dark and trying times.


Let us not be fooled by events into thinking our Creator is a myth or remote, uncaring deity. Instead, let us turn to him in prayer and love, knowing that he is Emmnuel, God with us.

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