The Lord says in today’s
first reading, Is. 65: 17-21, “I am about
to create new heavens and new earth;….No longer shall the sounds of weeping be
heard there or the sound of crying… (Is.65: 17, 19) Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I
create; for I create Jerusalem to be a
joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my
people” (Is. 65: 18-19).
The pagan official in
today’s Gospel, John 4: 43-54, experienced the fulfillment of this promise.
His son was dying and he sought out Jesus.
When he found Him in Galilee, he asked that he come down to Capernaum before
his son dies. Jesus does not go down. He sadly states to the people gathered
around: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” He
then turns to the pagan official and simply says: “Go home; your son will live.”
This pagan’s sorrow is turned into rejoicing. Everyone who meets him on his way
home experiences a man filled with delight.
God is always creating
something new in those who believe. He is always putting our sins behind Him,
totally forgetting our transgressions. Jesus’ triumph over death is an eternal NOW. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy
Spirit rejoice eternally over Jesus’ victory. Yes, the prophesy of Isaiah is
being fulfilled every single day. Even though our eyes do not see the “miracles,”
the signs of Jesus’ triumph over death that are renewed in the depths of our
hearts, in the recesses of our homes, in the bowels of our social, political
and religious systems, every moment of every day, does not mean that God’s
power to transform evil into good, death into life is not occurring in our midst. Must Jesus say to us: “Unless you people see signs
and wonders, you will not believe” (John 4: 48)?
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