Reading John 4:43-54
The Healing of the Royal Official's son.
A man, whoose son is near death, comes to Jesus and begs him to heal his son before it is too late. The man is desperate and sees no issue other than the critical condition of his son. This is about one thing and one thing only and as we read the story we are drawn into his worldview and accept the simplicity of the situation. The worldview of the desperate is this: there is a terrible need and there is a man who is reputed to be able to perform miracles. If this man can heal then he should heal and if he doesn't then we have to question either his power or his love. This is the argument from evil in a microcosom.
Jesus reaction to this man creates a kind of dissonance that is intended to shake the readers worldview with respect to this story. In the first place Jesus shows the same reluctance with respect to performing a miracle as he did at the previous Cana wonder, the wedding feast. And in the second place Jesus confronts this man with something of a rebuke that refuses to simply set everything aside in the face of his son's near death condition. We are looking for a simpler, more straightforward story. A sick boy, a powerful healer, a loving God, a miraculous and unconditional outcome. That is not what we get. We do get a positive outcome but we also encounter the reluctance and a not too sublte rebuke.
Jesus reveals in this story that the deepest issue here is not our relationship to our problems, fears, and needs but our relationship to faith in God. Jesus confronts this frightened man with a deeper reality about his condition. He can see that, while this man has a measure of faith in what he has heard about Jesus, his faith is so fragile that it will not withstand a negative answer to his request. He must have the miracle or he will have no faith. This is a constant theme throughout the fourth gospel. The faith that Jesus demands is a faith in the word and character of God, a faith that will wait, and hope, and endure because it is rooted in a living relationship with the Creator.
Jesus grants the mans request but still puts into the experience a test of faith that the man is able to pass. He refuses to go with the man to the child's bedside. He says to the man: "You may go. Your son will live." The man must leave Jesus and return to his son trusting that Jesus can be taken at his word. In this case Jesus has accomodated himself to the weakness of the seeker's faith.
When we are desperate we think that Jesus should leave all other issues aside and simply show his compassion by responding to our demands. Jesus knows that, sometimes, it is only in these situations that we are willing to listen to a truly radical message from God. There will not always be a healing but there should always be faith. God is God, whether his answer is yes or no.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment