In the first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, God said:
“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.”
He goes on to say … “No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying.”
God knows when we have a broken heart and He does not want us to hurt, be sad or cry anymore. God is close to the brokenhearted. He wants us to live life to the fullest and to be happy. He truly does not want to see us to suffer. He wants to take our suffering away and bring happiness to his people.
In the gospel today, Jesus testified that:
“A prophet has no honor in his native place… but … when he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him.”
Unfortunately, the same thing is true for us sometimes too. The people closest to us can hurt us the most, like the townspeople in Jesus’s home town. Strangers are sometimes more open to seeing a person as they really are without all the baggage from our past. It’s pretty sad really, that strangers can sometimes treat us better and with more respect than those who are closest to us.
That’s not always the case though. It’s very evident in today’s gospel reading that the royal official who sought Jesus out – did so because he loved his son very much. This father went to great lengths to find this man who many people considered to be a miracle worker. He desperately hoped that he might be able to save his son who was on the verge of dying.
Jesus sounded a little exasperated though when he said “unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe”.
The sorrow and suffering must have shown on this father’s face though, when he asked Jesus to heal his son. Our Lord was very compassionate and even if he did seem a little frustrated initially – he granted the royal official’s request to save his son.
Jesus does not want anyone to suffer and neither does God. There are a lot of people that blame God for their suffering, or get upset with Him because He doesn’t do anything to end their suffering. But, God doesn’t normally intervene in our lives. Sometimes out of His infinite compassion for us though, He may grant our request and a genuine miracle can occur. Jesus’ healing of the royal official’s son from such a great distance was such a miracle.
The last verses in today’s gospel said:
“Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.”
The signs, wonders and miracles that Jesus performed was out of his great love and compassion for people who are suffering. He did what he could to end their misery, heartache and suffering. However, miracles are not granted by God on demand. Miracles usually occur for the benefit of a group of people, so that they will realize that God is real and that He is truly present in their midst.
What we might be able to learn from the readings for mass today, is that Jesus and God both love us deeply and they do not want to see us suffer, be sad or cry. It is not their will that we suffer. However, we should be aware that when we pray for a miracle, God may or may not answer our prayer. It might be because what we ask for is not in union with His will for our lives or those we love. Miracles mainly occur so that people will understand that God is truly real and present in their lives in a personal way, so they will come to believe in Him, just like the royal official and his household did.
Daily Mass Readings:
Isaiah 65: 17-21 / Psalm 30: 2, 4, 5-6, 11-12a, 13b / John 4: 43-54
