4th Week of Lent (M)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic, NOLA
This
scene from John always makes me a little nervous. Jesus seems to be
dismissing the royal official's anxiety about his dying son. He asks
Jesus to come to Capernaum and heal the kid and Jesus sort of waves
him off with “You people just won't believe unless you see signs
and wonders.” Completely ignoring him, the official persists, “Sir,
come down before my child dies.” Here's where I have to be careful,
b/c I can almost see Jesus roll his eyes and sigh before he says –
a little too pompously? – “You may go; your son will live.”
Now, I know Jesus didn't roll his eyes or sigh, and I know he's not
arrogantly dismissing this poor man's distress over his dying son.
But I think you can see how this all reads on the page. Jesus here
isn't exactly the picture of the heroic healer we've some to expect.
So, what's going on? The answer – I think – comes in the sentence
immediately after Jesus tells the man that his son will live. John
writes, “The man believed
what Jesus said to him and left.” In other words, the man believes
Jesus has healed his son before
he actually knows that his son is healed. He didn't need to see signs
and wonder before he believed. He takes Jesus at his word.
When
we talk about faith, we often talk as if faith is a quantity of
something, a measurable amount of “holy stuff.” I need more
faith. I don't have enough faith. We do the same thing with grace.
More grace. Not enough grace. This is a deadly way of thinking about
the trust we place in the Lord. We cannot account
for faith; that is, count it up and balance the ledger btw credits
and debits. Faith is our living, daily trust in the Father's
promises. I trust God, or I don't. If I say that I trust God but
still seek after signs and wonders, then all I'm doing is gambling
that I'm right to trust Him. If I refuse to trust until I have proof,
then my trust – when the proof comes – isn't really trust at all.
However, if – like the official – I ask in faith for something
and believe it is given before I see it done, then I can say that I
truly trust in God's Word. We like evidence. We like to see and hear
and touch. We like to
know. But the only
grounds we have for believing in God's promises is the indwelling of
His love and our belief that we are – from all eternity – the
subjects of His boundless mercy. To this truth we are vowed to be
public witnesses, to give testimony without fear or shame.
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