Homily for March 12, 2018.
“Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed
the word that Jesus spoke to him and went his way. As he was going down, his
servants met him and told him that his son was living.” John 4:50-51.
No matter what they tell you, no matter what they do, no matter
what they teach you, what you believe is true, and that would keep you safe and
strong and sheltered from the storm. These lines from one of my favourite songs
of all time suddenly came alive to me as I reflected on today’s Gospel passage.
There was an official whose son was ill. He went to Jesus to beg
him to come down and heal his son because he was at the point of death.
Surprisingly, the same Jesus who was willing to go to the Centurion’s house
whose servant was ill was not willing to with the official to his house. Jesus
seemed to even test this man’s faith by saying: “Unless you see signs and
wonders, you will not believe.”
The official simply said: “Sir come down before my child dies.”
Jesus said to him: “Go, your son will live.” At this point, the man did not
push further anymore because he not only believed Jesus was capable of healing
his son, he also believed in the assurance of Jesus. He believed that his son
will live and in the end he got it.
I once read somewhere, “Faith is the evidence of things not seen
and the reward of faith is to see those things you believe.” This is the truth.
Your life is a summary of your beliefs. Whatever you believe is
becomes your reality. As the song puts it, no matter what they say, your
beliefs are always true. In other words, no matter how ridiculous your beliefs
are, so long as you hold on to them, they come to pass; they happen! They may
seem like dreams in your head right now but they soon become your history.
Maybe it is time to re-examine your beliefs or better put, maybe
it is time to take a paper and biro and start re-writing your future. I use the
word “re-write” because whether we like it or not our future is written already
in our heads as our BELIEFS. Positive beliefs are called “hopes, dreams, goals,
visions.” While our negative beliefs are called “fears, anxieties, challenges.”
You need to identify your negative beliefs (fears) one after the
other and start replacing them with more powerful positive beliefs. At some
point, this official was really scared of losing his son, his fear was written
all over his face when he said to Jesus: “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
He believed his son would die and this would have become true if he had not
changed this belief.
When Jesus told him “Go, your son will live” this man literally
expelled his fear of his son’s death. He threw out his negative beliefs and replaced
them with clean ones. He stopped imagining the tears, the pains, the
condolences and all that would have followed his son’s death, he started to
expect life for the boy. As he walked home, he imagined his boy running towards
him completely rejuvenated. And this become his reality.
Don’t die before your time! Forget what they say, no matter what
your situation may be right now, have a positive look at it again. Stop
complaining. Start thanking God instead, start expecting better; create a new
reality altogether and just watch and see how it becomes your life eventually.
Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, may I have
the faith of the official to always hold on to your word. Help me understand I
can change my reality by changing my mind. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Monday of the 4th week of Lent. Bible
Study: Isaiah 65:17-21 and John 4:43-54).
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