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 Rev. Josiah Rengers
God is always bigger. God is always more inclusive. The Galileans were thrilled when Jesus showed up to preach the Good News of God’s kingdom to them. Then they were confused when he offered the same Good News to the tax collects, angry when he healed a samaritan, furious when he called a Syro-phonecian woman faithful and ready to kill him when he healed the royal official’s son. Jesus showed us a kingdom that included everyone: the wealthy, the powerful, the righteous, the oppressors and the oppressed, the poor, the lost and the sinners. I wonder if the good news is that God is always more inclusive. He even includes us in his coming kingdom!