I.
As we turn to this encounter of Jesus with a man begging for his son’s healing, take your time with them. Listen to the words recorded here and see if you notice also the tone of the voices and the expressions on the faces. As you can live into this scene.

II.
John 4:46-54 (New Revised Standard Version)

Then [Jesus] 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.

III.
Who is this “royal official”?

I don’t mean what his name is, that is beyond our reach, but what do you take as his status, his position in society, maybe even his place in government or the court of Herod Antipas? Is he a man of prestige and power? How does he usually dress and conduct himself?

How far is he willing to go to ask Jesus for help? Consider not just the geographic distance he travels, but also the social distance.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}