March 22, 2004 Monday of the 4th Week of Lent
Today is one of many instances when Jesus’ first reaction to someone is to say “no”, but then he changes his mind. John tells us that Jesus returned to Cana where he had turned water into wine. You remember that when Mary came to Jesus at the wedding feast he asked her what concern it was of His. His time had not yet come. But then, he went ahead and performed the miracle.
When the gentile woman asked Him to heal her daughter, his response was that He had been sent to the lost sheep of Israel. It was not right to take food from the children and give it to the dogs. Remember her response? Even dogs get the scraps that fall from the table? Jesus took pity on her and healed her daughter.
Today it’s a royal official who comes to Him, asking him to heal his son. Again Jesus says no. This time he chastises the man because “you people” must see signs and miracles in order to believe. But the man persists, showing that he does believe. Once again, Jesus performs a miracle after He had said he wouldn’t.
So, what’s the message here? That Jesus couldn’t make up his mind? No, first, Christ came to be one like us. Like us, He had a human nature.
How many of us, as parents or grandparents can honestly say that we’ve never said “no” to something our kids (or grand kids) wanted? Then, either because of the kid’s persistence, or because we’re all softies at heart, we changed our minds. We caved in. It must have been like that with Jesus. Being human, sometimes He spoke harshly. Then after he thought about it, He gave in.
Jesus is the only person who ever lived who you couldn’t say “He’s only human.” He was human. But, He’s also divine. Jesus the man could say “no” sometimes. But, for Jesus the Son of God , it was harder to say “no”.
Second, it may be that Jesus said “no” to see how much faith the person really had. If the person wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. If they persisted, then they must have believed that Christ could work the miracle. My kids have asked for lots of things. Believe me, they can be persistent. But none of them has ever asked me for an elephant; or an airplane. They know what I can do and what I can’t.
Remember that for Christ, nothing is impossible. Like the royal official in today’s Gospel, if we ask Him sincerely for the things we really need, and truly believe that He will answer our prayers, then He will.
When the gentile woman asked Him to heal her daughter, his response was that He had been sent to the lost sheep of Israel. It was not right to take food from the children and give it to the dogs. Remember her response? Even dogs get the scraps that fall from the table? Jesus took pity on her and healed her daughter.
Today it’s a royal official who comes to Him, asking him to heal his son. Again Jesus says no. This time he chastises the man because “you people” must see signs and miracles in order to believe. But the man persists, showing that he does believe. Once again, Jesus performs a miracle after He had said he wouldn’t.
So, what’s the message here? That Jesus couldn’t make up his mind? No, first, Christ came to be one like us. Like us, He had a human nature.
How many of us, as parents or grandparents can honestly say that we’ve never said “no” to something our kids (or grand kids) wanted? Then, either because of the kid’s persistence, or because we’re all softies at heart, we changed our minds. We caved in. It must have been like that with Jesus. Being human, sometimes He spoke harshly. Then after he thought about it, He gave in.
Jesus is the only person who ever lived who you couldn’t say “He’s only human.” He was human. But, He’s also divine. Jesus the man could say “no” sometimes. But, for Jesus the Son of God , it was harder to say “no”.
Second, it may be that Jesus said “no” to see how much faith the person really had. If the person wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. If they persisted, then they must have believed that Christ could work the miracle. My kids have asked for lots of things. Believe me, they can be persistent. But none of them has ever asked me for an elephant; or an airplane. They know what I can do and what I can’t.
Remember that for Christ, nothing is impossible. Like the royal official in today’s Gospel, if we ask Him sincerely for the things we really need, and truly believe that He will answer our prayers, then He will.
posted by Mike at 1:41 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home