31st March. Monday in the Fourth Week of Lent

0 Comments
|

1) Isaiah 65:17-21

(There are great things in store for those who love God.)

For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.

I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.

They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

Gospel: John 4:43-54

(In his second miracle in Cana village, Jesus cures the son of a royal official.)

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.

An outsider’s extraordinary faith

Through Isaiah, God promises us “new heavens and a new earth.” We look forward to a vibrant life, even better than just the old-made-new… for it will be a new creation, a total transformation. Although in the next age we and everyone else will somehow be the same persons who lived on this old planet earth, God’s creative power will lead into a heavenly existence so marvelous that the things of the past shall not be remembered . . .No longer shall the sounds of weeping be heard there.

Jesus promised a blessing to the royal official who came to him from Capernaum. The man’s son was nearly dead when he begged Jesus to come and restore the boy to health. And Jesus told him quite simply, ‘return home. Your son will live.’ This pagan Roman official puts his trust in Jesus and starts for home, trusting that the boy whom he had last seen so ill will now meet him full of life!

If all tears are not yet wiped away, the suffering and loss in life call for persevering love and courageous dedication, on our part who rally around for comfort and support. We believe, Lord, that you sorrow with the sorrowing. Even in this valley of tears you hold out to us a vision of new heavens and a new earth! We will live in this hope.

Jesus really can work miracles. The centurion believed in the promise, “Your son will live.” Anyone who passed this pagan Roman on his way home must have been startled by the hope in his eyes, the enthusiasm for life in his step. Do people who meet us perceive us as hopeful and optimistic? They should, if we truly look forward to “new heavens and a new earth.”

 

Join the Discussion

Keep the following in mind when writing a comment

  • Your comment must include your full name, and email. (email will not be published). You may be contacted by email, and it is possible you might be requested to supply your postal address to verify your identity.
  • Be respectful. Do not attack the writer. Take on the idea, not the messenger. Comments containing vulgarities, personalised insults, slanders or accusations shall be deleted.
  • Keep to the point. Deliberate digressions don't aid the discussion.
  • Including multiple links or coding in your comment will increase the chances of it being automati cally marked as spam.
  • Posts that are merely links to other sites or lengthy quotes may not be published.
  • Brevity. Like homilies keep you comments as short as possible; continued repetitions of a point over various threads will not be published.
  • The decision to publish or not publish a comment is made by the site editor. It will not be possible to reply individually to those whose comments are not published.