Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 15, 2021
At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee.
For Jesus himself testified
that a prophet has no honor in his native place.
When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,
since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast;
for they themselves had gone to the feast.
Then he returned to Cana in Galilee,
where he had made the water wine.
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,
he went to him and asked him to come down
and heal his son, who was near death.
Jesus said to him,
“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
The royal official said to him,
“Sir, come down before my child dies.”
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.
Now this was the second sign Jesus did
when he came to Galilee from Judea.
Late last year, I became ill with COVID-19 and required hospitalization for several days. I’ve always enjoyed good health and the sudden onset of serious illness was a frightening and isolating experience. While there have been some bumps in the road, I am fortunate to have largely recovered from this terrible disease.
In today’s gospel, we see a dramatic example of Jesus’s divine power – specifically his ability to heal with the mere utterance of the words, “…your son will live.” Jesus also expresses his frustration with the people of Galilee who require the performance of “signs and wonders” in order to believe.
Faith is a much easier proposition when everything is going well. However, it is in the times of adversity that faith is tested. How often are we like the royal official in today’s gospel who desperately asks God for something? Had Jesus not healed his son, would this man have believed in Jesus?
While I was ill, I often prayed to God–and a sizeable proportion of the communion of saints–asking to be healed. For a time, it felt like no one was listening. I was like those citizens of Galilee looking for an outward sign of God’s presence.
Ultimately, I had to surrender my desire for control and certainty and remember that Jesus didn’t promise us a life without strife or the absence of our various crosses to bear. He did promise to always be with us. And he promised us the gifts of mercy, forgiveness and eternal life. All that is required is that we believe in him, regardless of whether we see “signs and wonders” in our time. May God help us in strengthening our faith and resolve and to trust in his son Jesus.
Prayer
Lord, hear those who call out for healing of body, mind, and spirit. May we unite with the sufferings of our brothers and sisters as they call out for your healing. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Longinus is known as the Roman centurion who stood at the foot of the cross at Jesus’ crucifixion and speared his side with a lance.
The Gospel of John tells of blood and water spilling from Jesus’ body. Matthew and Mark tell us that this soldier was converted when he witnessed Jesus’ death and the earthquake and mid-day darkness that followed, saying, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
In the Gospel accounts, this soldier is unnamed; it is likely that the name Longinus is simply derived from the word for “lance.” The Christian community told stories about the rest of this soldier’s life, but many of the tales are legends, and historically unverifiable. Some accounts have him leaving the life of a soldier and living as a monk. Some tell that he was martyred by Pilate for his confession of Jesus as the Son of God.
Relics of St. Longinus rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and he is depicted in stained glass in the Basilica in several places. In this window, he receives a vision of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Longinus is on the bottom right side of the window holding a lance, while kneeling with the great saints Francis, Augustine, and Ignatius.
St. Longinus is associated with the Sacred Heart of Jesus because more than any other character in Jesus’ passion, he had the closest physical experience of Jesus’ sacrificial death in love for us all. He became a believer when he pierced Jesus’ heart with his spear and witnessed water and blood flow from it.
Theologians associate the water and blood that flowed from Jesus’ side with the waters of baptism and the blood of Christ we receive in the Eucharist—sacraments that constitute us as a Church. Longinus, therefore, stands as a model for Christians. We, too, seek conversion by encountering the water and blood that flow from Christ—by renewing our baptismal promises and participating in the Eucharist.
St. Longinus, the centurion who was converted when you pierced Jesus’ Sacred Heart—pray for us!