Do You Believe?

Do you believe?  I don't mean do you believe on the surface or if you pay lip service when you are asked that question.  I mean do you actually believe?  Has a friend or family member ever approached you and asked, "Do you believe me?"  This question has a twofold meaning: 1, it is an affirmation of their trust and belief in you, and 2, it is an invitation to trust and believe in them.

 God asks you today, "Do you believe me?  Not just in me, but do you believe me?"  Do you believe that you are loved from all eternity?  Do you believe that the Father listens to you and hears your prayers?  Do you believe?

 In today's Gospel reading (Jn. 4:43-54), a royal official approached Jesus and asked for a healing for his sick son.  "Sir, come down before my child dies," he said.  Jesus said in reply, "You may go; your son will live."  Then we are told: "The man believed what Jesus said to him and left."

Think about this: a royal official traveled to Galilee to see Jesus and to ask Him to go and heal his son.  As a royal official I can imagine that he usually has people and services brought to him and at his convenience, but in today's passage he went forth himself to meet Jesus.  He did this because he loved his son.  This father, whose son was dying, heard of what Jesus had done and was moved by hope to find Him.  This man believed that Jesus could heal his son.  In many ways it was the sick son that brought the man to faith.  When Jesus saw the love this man had for his son and the trust he had in Him and the earnestness he showed in his eyes, He was moved with compassion and said "You may go; your son will live."   The man showed complete trust in Jesus for we are told simply, "The man believed what Jesus said to him and left." This man, after having encountered Jesus, placed the life of his son in the hands of Jesus and walked away with trust and hope.  The man believed that Jesus will stay true to His words.  Let us take a moment to imagine that.  What the encounter looked like, what the man was feeling before, during, and after.  Was there conflict? peace?

This man first approached Our Lord with a trust and hope that may have been a "last resort" kind of situation.  Nonetheless, he traveled to meet the Lord.  However, through that encounter with the Lord and after experiencing the healing power of God and the promise Jesus made to him, he came to faith and a deeper and more meaningful trust and hope - the kind that can only come from God.  This man experienced prayer in a very meaningful way.  Prayer is a relationship, a relationship between an individual and the Father, a relationship between a beloved child and his/her Father, and the fruit of that relationship is grace. The grace of  faith, trust, joy, peace, and all of the graces we may ask of the Lord.  Also, see how the child played an integral role in the man's encounter with the Lord and the eventual relationship between them.  Others can help bring us to Christ.  It is the children who will show us the way to Christ.  It is the childlike who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.   

The royal official trusted in the Lord and came to faith through his encounter with the Lord.  How deep is our trust in the Father?  Let us ask the Father for the grace of a deeper trust in Him and in His desire to hear our prayers and the intercessory prayers of others, and the grace of a genuine desire to nourish this relationship with Him.     


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