“The Miracle of Belief”

The scripture is overflowing with the wonderful words and works of Jesus. As the centurion said, “truly this was the son of God. (Mt. 27:54) As we ponder each situation and story we receive glimpses of Almighty God at work. Today’s gospel reading gives another insight into the Lord at work.

“Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. While the man was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. (John 4:43-54) 

The Lord is not put off by our stumbling around, by our ignoring his directions. The royal official blunders in and dismisses the Lord’s critique and blurts out “sir, come down before my child dies”. He’s obviously desperate and in a dither about his sick son and is not going to be denied. And then this entire magnificent miracle takes place in a moment’s exchange…..  “you may go, your son will live”. There’s no preamble, not preliminary Q&A, not go wash in the stream.  Boom …. “you may go (i.e. here’s your hat, what’s your hurry?), your son will live”.

And what about the faith of the official? After these seven words from Jesus,  “the man believed what Jesus said to him and left.” Wow! The official somehow believed that this man Jesus had the power to heal with a couple of words. He didn’t hang around asking for an explanation. He knew that his son was healed even though he had no physical evidence. This is an incredible story with many lessons for us. And when he returned home and saw his son was healed at the exact time of the Lord’s words, “his whole household came to believe”.

What about you and me; what can we draw from this story? Do we recognize when the Lord answers our prayers? Do I take the Lord at his word, even when the evidence hasn’t shown up? Do I realize that answers to prayer come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can happen instantly or over long periods, but always in God’s perfect way and time? Somehow this official, who wasn’t even a believer in Christ, was able to believe in the authority of the Lord’s words. (“later his whole household came to believe”)

Maybe this beautiful meditation by Rita Simmonds, will help us understand. It’s entitled “The Miracle of Belief”

Jesus healed the royal official’s son the moment his father asked. The man did not witness the miracle, but believed without seeing. Miracles unfold along life’s path like roses opening petal by petal. When we smell their sweet scent we remember our prayer request. Think of all the urgent petitions that at the proper time come to fruition. They were already answered, held tightly in the seed, rupturing the earth, growing tall, pressing hopes within layers of bud, waiting to burst forth cascades of bloom. Jesus answers our prayers the moment we ask. We await their revelation as we walk our journey’s road. (Rita A. Simmonds, Magnificat, 3-11-24)