http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/033114.cfm
The Gospel today deals with faith in prayer. It tells the
story of a royal official who comes to Galilee to ask Jesus for the
healing of his dying son. When the official arrives, Jesus criticizes people
for their lack of faith, saying, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you
will not believe.” However, the official persists and asks Jesus to heal his
son. He believes Jesus when he says that the boy will be healed, and arrives
home to find that it has been done as Jesus said.
What sticks out to me most about the reading is the way that
the official approaches Jesus to ask for his help. Jesus is the poor son of a
carpenter, known only through word of mouth; yet the royal official has the
humility to recognize his own need and the courage to go to Jesus to fill
it. The official travels from Capernaum,
a good distance from Galilee, to see Jesus. The journey was likely not easy,
but he puts in the work to get to Jesus. The official also has the faith to
believe that his prayer will be answered even before he sees the physical proof
that his son has been healed. Lastly, when he arrives home to find that his son
has been healed, he believes that it was Jesus who had healed him and allows
this work of God to strengthen his faith.
Often times when I pray, I leave out one of these elements.
I struggle especially with recognizing and thanking God when my prayers are
answered. I have the bad habit of attributing my answered prayers to chance or
some other factor. The psalm for the day reads, “I will praise you Lord, for
you have rescued me.” Lent is a great time to focus more on prayer, but also
being attentive to the ways that God is answering our prayers. I hope to be
more like the official in the Gospel story, who sees what Jesus has done and believes.
Lauren Ross
FCRH 2016
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