3/23/2020 Lenten Luminaries
Posted on Mar 24, 2020
by ACS
[Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
“The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.”
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
“Your son will live,”
and he and his whole household came to believe.] (Jn. 4:50-53)
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
“The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.”
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
“Your son will live,”
and he and his whole household came to believe.] (Jn. 4:50-53)
Once again someone approaches Jesus asking for a miracle. This royal official’s son is on the point of death in the passage (Jn. 4:43-54). There is no hope left. He has absolutely no control or even a vague feeling of control over the situation. There is nowhere else for this royal official to go. Why not give this itinerate preacher a shot?
The human race had no hope either once original sin entered the world and marred the soul. Yet, it was God Himself who provided hope not only for us to have the chance to enter heaven, but also to overcome our sin with His grace. He is always there waiting to save, but we must make the choice to accept His salvation every moment of everyday.
Yet, even on a purely physical level, we have nowhere else to turn in regards to COVID-19. We can’t even begin to claim control over it or seemingly slow it down at this point. The only place to turn is God. We must remember that our God is not a god who works only when there is nowhere else to turn. He is always active through the hands of doctors. However situations like the one in which we find ourselves makes it very evident that our God is the only one Who can save. We are forced to make the decision. Do we want His help or are we stubbornly going to ignore Him? It’s a question we must honestly ask ourselves.
Why not give God a shot like the royal official did?