by Dr. Judy Stack
When the two days were over, Jesus went from that place to Galilee (for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country). When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for they too had gone to the festival. Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine.
Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.” The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.
John 4:43–54
What sign are you looking for? The Gospel of John seems to have a rather ambivalent attitude toward signs, here and elsewhere: Jesus speaks disparagingly of faith based on miraculous deeds, yet it is clear those play a role in some people coming to believe in Jesus. What about you? Is there something you are hoping God will do for you or maybe in you? Maybe you are not looking for anything so obvious as changing water into wine, but every Sunday we are praying for signs of Jesus’ transformational, life-giving power—for forgiveness for ourselves and for our ability to forgive, for reconciliation and kinship across lines of difference, for peace and healing in our lives and in the world—things much more miraculous than stilling a storm or walking on water. And things that, when we begin to see them happening, increase our faith and become signs to all around us of the power of Jesus at work for love and redemption of the world.
Queen-of-the-Prairie – Filipendula rubra
These photographs, shared each day during Lent, capture the beauty of plants native to the Upper Midwest. As we spend time in Lenten reflection, these images of new life can remind us daily of our calling to be caretakers of God’s Creation.
Photo by Jo Anna Hebberger
