Lent Week 4: Monday

John 4: 43-54: From Faithless Familiarity to Fervent Faith

Today’s gospel documents an interesting range and also shift in opinions and attitudes to Jesus. It also shows Jesus to be perceptive and realistic about people’s attitudes to him but also understanding, even accommodating, and helpful in spite of this, and thus able to draw them on to real faith and real recognition of him.

At the outset Jesus accepts that locals do not tend to see one of their own as remarkable (v 44). Familiarity, if it does not breed contempt, breeds a certain indifference. It is only the stir he has created in Jerusalem, turning over the market stalls in the temple, that improves their view of him (v 45). I guess the motivation for this change of opinion could be very mixed., even dubious. The Northerners, the Galileans, were happy to hear about one of their own stirring things up in the sophisticated and perhaps conceited, even corrupt, southern capital. However, Jesus accepts this advance in his status and it becomes a platform for locals to approach him for a cure (v 47). Again Jesus sees that this is all that is wanted and though he makes it clear his own aim is faith in himself for who he really is, not just what he can do for people, he still works the healing miracle (v 48-49). Seeing the miracle, though Jesus is no longer present, a whole household comes to belief – which we can take to mean come into a saving belief in Jesus as the saviour sent by God. From not very promising beginnings a whole household has come to faith and the story continues to ripple out through history, making waves (vv 53-54).

This gospel thus tells us that even now God is also astute in dealing with each of us, and the mixed bag in us, consisting of varying intellectual attitudes, requests for our daily needs, a genuine search for salvation and desire to love God simply for who God is. It is good to recognise and admit to ourselves our own complexity, one that is fluid rather than static. It is also good to reflect on our own faith journey and appreciate just how God has dealt with the complexity of who we each are. This will teach us useful lessons enabling us to help others.

This Gospel also encourages us to accept, realistically and pragmatically when dealingpastorally  with people we meet and who we want to help come to and grow in knowledge and love of Jesus. At the same time we are to be wise, discerning and shrewd, and keep hoping and praying expectantly, if patiently, for real saving faith to be planted and grow in them. God does continue to work signs in our day, and people do come to believe in Jesus.