The Gospel
When the two days were over, Jesus went from that place to Galilee (for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor 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.
The Offering
From Jamie Whitehurst
In this parable, a royal official is desperate to save his dying son. He travels 8 hours to find Jesus and begs for help. The official specifically asks Jesus to return with him and heal his son. Jesus did not return with him, but simply replied, “Go; your son will live.”
How many times have we impatiently asked God for specific things to happen? I am certainly guilty of that. Several years ago, I landed an interview for a dream job in Atlanta after a lot of prayer. I made it through several rounds of interviews before becoming their top candidate and was promised to receive the job offer within a few days. I continued to pray and excitedly searched for housing options while preparing for the big move.
Several days passed with no job offer so I contacted the organization to inquire about their timeline. As it turns out, they were in serious financial trouble and being taken over by a larger organization. My position had been dissolved, most of their staff were laid off, and they lost their board of directors. Thank God that I did not move to Atlanta and lose the job a week later!
There was a better plan in place and my prayers should have been simply to ask for guidance, patience, and wisdom.
God, during this season of quiet reflection time, forgive me for the times I have treated you like a messenger boy. I turn to you in a crisis, begging for a favor. When the crisis passes, I easily go back to living as though you did not exist. I want to find time for you, to live in your presence.
Amen.