Monday of the Fourth Week in Lent

# Many healings are recorded in the New Testament. Most of them refer to Jesus’ care of our souls to cleanse them from our sins. The Healing of an Officer’s Son brings some additional clarity to this concept. The Jerusalem Bible translation speaks of a royal official. Before the crucifixion of Jesus, which took place while Pontius Pilate was prefect of Judea, there was no king in Galilee, Judea or the surrounding territories.

It was only after Pontius Pilate’s dismissal (late 36 – early 37) that Caligula released Agrippa I from prison and appointed him king of Battania. The territories entrusted to Agrippa bordered Galilee and were on the other side of the Jordan. Herod the Great’s sons (Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas and Philip the Tetrarch) never obtained the title of king. Gregory the Great’s homily 28 was dedicated to this miracle. The Pope compared this healing to that of the centurion (Mt 8, 6-7). The speaker punctuated his speech by pointing out that Jesus did not move there. Gregory the Great quoted Psalm 116, verse 6 : « The Lord guards the grandchildren. « Humility must be the order of the day.

From the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John

At that time, after spending two days with the Samaritans, Jesus left there for Galilee. – He himself had testified that a prophet is not regarded in his own country. So he came to Galilee, and the Galileans welcomed him, for they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem during the Passover feast, for they had also been to that feast.

So Jesus returned to Cana of Galilee, where he had turned water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was sick in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was coming from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down to Capernaum to heal his son who was dying.

Jesus said to him, « If you do not see signs and wonders, you will not believe ! « The royal official said to him, « Lord, come down before my child dies ! « Jesus replied, « Go, your son lives. »

The man believed the word Jesus had spoken to him and went down. As he was going downstairs, his servants came to meet him and told him that his child was alive. He wanted to know what time he was better. They told him, « It was yesterday, at the seventh hour (early afternoon), that the fever left him.

The father realised that this was the very hour when Jesus had said to him, « Your son is alive. So he believed, and so did all the people in his house. This was the second sign Jesus performed when he returned from Judea to Galilee. » (Jn 4, 43-54)

Jesus heals the son of the royal officer

 John tells of Jesus’ return to Galilee and motivates this return by recalling a proverb that Jesus had quoted and which appeared as a reason against his return to Galilee. Then he reported, as a consequence of this saying, that Jesus was well received by the Galileans.

What is the homeland of Jesus mentioned in this proverb ? Many answered : Galilee. Jesus went there because he knew that he would not be successful, but he sought either to fight (Weiss) or to retreat (Luthardt, Holtzmann, Schlatter).

Meyer thought that Jesus, knowing that as a prophet he would not at first be honoured in Galilee, his homeland, had begun by seeking this honour outside, in Jerusalem, in Judea. His calculation did not deceive him: he was then well received by the Galileans, because they had seen his miracles in Jerusalem.

This very admissible explanation was adopted, with some modifications, by Astié, Reuss, M. Godet. Others, from Origen to Baur, Ebrard and Keil, believed that, in John’s mind, the homeland of Jesus was Judea, where he was born, and that, not having been honoured there, he returned to Galilee.

It is even on this fact that a great number of interpreters based themselves to propose a fourth explanation. By Galilee, to which Jesus returned, they meant that province as a whole, excluding Nazareth, where Jesus did not want to go. Although Jesus was commonly called a Galilean, nowhere in the New Testament does it give him this province as his homeland, but constantly Nazareth. Nathanael replied :  « Can anything good come out of Nazareth ?’ » Philip replied : « Come and see. «  (Jn 19, 19)

John explained the reception Jesus received from the Galileans by recalling that they had witnessed all the things he did in Jerusalem during the feast, which they themselves had attended. They were struck by the authority he displayed in cleansing the temple, as well as by the miracles he performed : « While he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name at the signs he performed » (Jn 2, 23).

These were external manifestations that could prepare souls for faith, but they were insufficient to create it in them. Jesus, encouraged by this good reception, wanted to continue his journey to Galilee, as far as Cana, where his previous stay could have prepared people to receive his word. This is what the evangelist wants to make clear by recalling that it was there that he had changed water into wine (John 2, 1ff.)

A royal officer can refer to any official, civil or military. Here we are talking about a servant of Herod Antipas, who ruled over Galilee and was given the title of king, although he officially bore only that of tetrarch. The confidence of this man, who was not yet a disciple of Jesus, can be explained either by the miracle at Cana, of which he was aware, or by the knowledge he too had of all that Jesus did in Jerusalem.

But this confidence is best explained by the anguish in his father’s heart. He asked Jesus to come down because Cana was in the mountains. They all looked for miracles, and Jesus wanted them to believe in him by his word, which brought the truth into immediate contact with their souls. He did not deny the value of his miracles in preparing for faith; he called upon them himself.

The father was not put off by the severity of Jesus’ words, but in his anguish he insisted, with emotion, « and begged him earnestly : ‘My daughter, still so young, is at the last extremity. Come and lay your hands on her so that she may be saved and live » (Mk 5:23)

So Jesus responded to his trust by granting him more than he asked for. Without going with him at the time, he announced the healing of his son with these sovereign words: « Go, your son lives » (Mk 5:23). « This action of Jesus was a further test of the officer’s fledgling faith, for he had to return with only a word.

As he went down to Lake Tiberias, the servants ran to meet their master with great joy, so that they could tell him the good news sooner. They used the same words to tell him the good news that Jesus used, which meant, « He is not only not dead, but he is well.

The father was joyfully certain of his son’s recovery, but he wanted to know whether the word of Jesus, which he had believed, was the only cause of it; this confirmed his faith.  The seventh hour, according to the Jewish way of dividing the day, indicates an hour after noon.

In this case, the father had time to return from Cana to Capernaum the same day, the distance being six or seven hours’ walk and the anguish of his heart having to speed up his journey. So when the servants spoke of the healing as having been accomplished the day before, they spoke in the manner of the Jews, who after six o’clock in the evening referred to the past day as yesterday.

He believed in the word of Jesus, whose divine power he recognised, but he believed in Jesus himself as Messiah and Saviour. And all his household, his whole family and his servants, shared his faith.  The greatest and most precious thing for this father was the healing of his son.

Deacon Michel Houyoux

Links to other Christian websites

◊ Catholic culture : click here to read the paper →  Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent

◊ Psalm 29   : click here to read the paper → Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent – Isaiah 

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Quinta domenica di Quaresima – Anno B

Dal Vangelo di Gesù Cristo secondo San Giovanni

In quel periodo c’erano alcuni greci tra coloro che erano saliti a Gerusalemme per adorare Dio alla festa della Pasqua. Vennero da Filippo, che era di Betsaida in Galilea, e gli chiesero : « Vogliamo vedere Gesù ». « Filippo va a dirlo ad Andrea e tutti e due vanno a dirlo a Gesù.

Allora Gesù disse loro : « È giunta l’ora che il Figlio dell’uomo sia glorificato. Amen, amen, vi dico: se un chicco di grano cade in terra e non muore, rimane solo; ma se muore, porta molto frutto.

Chi ama la sua vita la perde; chi se ne separa in questo mondo la conserverà per la vita eterna. Se qualcuno vuole servirmi, mi segua; e dove sono io, là sarà anche il mio servo.

Se qualcuno mi serve, il Padre mio lo onorerà. Ora la mia anima è sopraffatta. Cosa devo dire ? « Padre, salvami da quest’ora » ?  Ma no! Ecco perché sono venuto in quest’ora! Padre, glorifica il tuo nome ! « 

Poi venne una voce dal cielo, dicendo : « L’ho glorificato e lo glorificherò ancora ». « Quando la folla l’ha sentito, ha detto che è stato come un tuono. Altri hanno detto : « Era un angelo che gli parlava ». « Ma Gesù disse loro: « La voce non era per me, ma per voi. Ora è il giudizio di questo mondo; ora il principe di questo mondo sarà cacciato; ed io, quando sarò innalzato da terra, attirerò tutti gli uomini a me. « Con questo significò che tipo di morte stava per morire ». (Gv 12,20-33)

Vogliamo vedere Gesù

 Vorremmo vedere Gesù. « Questa è la richiesta fatta dai greci il giorno dopo la Domenica delle Palme. Queste persone sono simpatizzanti della religione ebraica che sono saliti a Gerusalemme per la festa della Pasqua. Hanno sentito parlare del suo ingresso trionfale a Gerusalemme. Così vanno a cercare i discepoli e alla fine trovano Filippo. Si avvicinano a lui e gli dicono il loro più grande desiderio: vedere la gloria di colui di cui tutti cantano le lodi. Vogliono vederlo, sì, ma questa gloria che sono invitati a vedere è quella di un uomo crocifisso… . Vedranno la morte di colui che è l’autore della vita, un uomo esaltato sopra tutti, inchiodato su una croce. Questo Gesù innalzato da terra conoscerà la gloria quando attirerà tutti gli uomini a sé.

Vorremmo vedere Gesù. Questa è una frase meravigliosa che sale da ogni cuore che desidera Dio. Gesù sta parlando a ciascuno di noi oggi. Anche noi vogliamo vedere Gesù. Gesù ci fa capire una cosa molto importante: lo incontreremo dove non ci aspettavamo di trovarlo. Lui è sempre visibile, ma in modi che non avevamo immaginato. È nel malato che andiamo a visitare nel letto d’ospedale; è nell’uomo che è stato licenziato senza motivo, nel prigioniero con cui ci teniamo in contatto, nella persona che è vittima di calunnie e pettegolezzi. Tutto quello che facciamo per il più piccolo di questi, lo facciamo per lui.

Con Gesù, i valori sono invertiti. L’umiliazione diventa grandezza. Il fallimento diventa un trionfo. Il più degradante strumento di tortura dell’epoca diventa la croce gloriosa. Vediamo in essa un simbolo luminoso dell’amore. Questa croce è presente nelle nostre chiese, ma anche agli incroci e sulle cime delle colline. Quando la guardiamo, vediamo la glorificazione di un amore che va al di là di qualsiasi cosa che possiamo immaginare.

Ma « vedere » Gesù non è sufficiente. Si aspetta che lo seguiamo e che lo imitiamo. Questa è una chiamata che ricorre spesso nei Vangeli: prendere la nostra croce e seguire Gesù. La via di Cristo è una rapida discesa. È esattamente il contrario di quello che consigliano gli uomini.

Viviamo in un mondo che dà grande importanza al denaro, al potere e al buono stato. Ma quando Gesù cerca l’uomo, scende nell’incarnazione e si fa schiavo. Scende tra gli uomini e si fa l’ultimo. E così ci invita a seguirlo nella sua morte per partecipare alla sua risurrezione.

Seguire Gesù è anche soffrire accanto ai nostri simili, accanto a coloro che vivono nella disperazione. Ci invita anche a unirci a coloro che sono impegnati nella lotta contro la povertà.  In breve, dobbiamo riscoprire il significato evangelico di « carità »: amare, ascoltare gli altri, essere al servizio, condividere, essere attenti ai più poveri.

Ogni domenica celebriamo l’Eucaristia in comunione con tutta la Chiesa, che ha ricevuto la missione di condurci a Gesù. Mandandoci a testimoniare il suo amore e la speranza che ripone in noi, Gesù ci ricorda che è con noi ogni giorno fino alla fine del mondo. Preghiamolo, insieme, affinché ci dia forza e coraggio per la missione che ci affida.

Diacono Michel Houyoux

Link ad altri siti web cristiani

◊ Maranatha (Italia) : clicca qui per leggere l’articolo → Liturgia Domenica V Tempo di Quaresima – anno B

◊ Qumran (Italia) : clicca qui per leggere l’articolo → Testi – V Domenica di Quaresima (Anno B) 

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