Faith and Trust in the Living God

In today's first reading, Isaiah 65: 17-21, the Lord says to us through the prophet: "Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth;the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. 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."

What I believe comes to be! For instance, if I believe that I will fail, failure will be mine. On the contrary, if I believe that I shall succeed, I will succeed in some way, even if that success is how I handle failure!  Living through faith in God's power to "create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight," I will, then, experience God's power to bring good out of what I may have perceived as disaster.  We see this kind of faith at work in the royal official in today's Gospel, John 4: 43-54. The royal official asked Jesus to come down to Capernaum to heal his dying son.  At first it looked as if Jesus was dismissing him with a rebuke when he said: "Unless you  people see signs and wonders you will not believe." The royal official simply repeated his request and Jesus says to him: "You may go; your son will live" and at that moment his son began to recover.

Like the royal official,  if I live by faith,  I will not hesitate to bring my concerns to Jesus, knowing that He has the power to help me in my need, whatever that need might be. As I rely upon God to respond to my requests for help,  my thinking negatively will be changed into thinking positively. And like the royal official,  I will then experience how God delights in me and restores my faith in Him.

Lord, I pray for the faith to believe in what you create and are capable of creating.   Like the royal official, may I grow in my knowledge of who You really are: a compassionate, loving, faithful God, whose love is infinite and generously shared. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Creation of a new heaven and a new earth

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)?