Monday, April 1
Readings: IS 65:17-21; JN 4:43-54
In the first reading, Isaiah gives us a picture of what the future will be like – the new heavens and the new earth where there is happiness and rejoicing. Where the infant mortality will be almost nonexistent and people won’t die young.
We know we’re not there yet. In Rochester, for example, our infant mortality rate is much higher than the national average of 5.7 (per 1000 births, last measured in 2017), that is, if you are not white. The African-American mortality rate here is 12 deaths per 1,000 births (last measured in 2014-16), 7 per 1,000 for Latinos and 5 per 1,000 for whites.
As for dying early….In the medical field, they call this YPLL – years of potential life lost. It measures the years that someone might have lived that are lost due to premature death (often from preventable causes). In Rochester, and probably just about everywhere else in the United States, if you are poor, live in an urban area and are black, you (as a group) have the highest YPLL. Race, class and geography are still the leading causes of death!
High infant mortality and premature death are not signs of a healthy society.
In the gospel, a “royal official” pleads with Jesus to come to his house to heal his child. Jesus seems reluctant to engage the official and says, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” Jesus tells the official that his son will live and to go home. And the man does. He believes in the power of Jesus, and on his way back home he gets news that his son was healed.
This is a tricky gospel to interpret. Is it saying that we need to believe in Jesus and then our prayers will be answered and the miracles will begin? If our prayers are not answered, does that mean we did not have enough faith?
I don’t think this passage is about how much faith or belief you have. I am not sure that’s how God works. I think this passage is about something else.
A “royal official” would be used to a certain kind of treatment. They would have a good deal of social capital and would expect certain privileges to go with a position like that. One of those perks might be access. Another perk might be house calls. And we see both of those here.
But Jesus does not fully comply and tells the official to go on his way and to trust. Back in the day, and probably now, royal officials do not get sent away empty handed. They are used to getting what they want and when they want it by pulling strings, seeking out connections, leveraging things in their favor – because they can. But this one does not and just accepts Jesus’ response.
This, for me, is a turning point of the story. Jesus sees this man’s trust as a sign that he is willing to let go of his privilege and position and just trust Jesus – no matter what. He does not have to pester Jesus. He does not have to have proof. He is not above anyone else. And Jesus offers his family a healing that changes their lives.
We hear Jesus speak about “signs and wonders” today, and, simply put, a sign is an indicator that something is happening.
The more we can release whatever privilege we hold, the more signs we will start seeing that God’s activity is growing in the world. High infant mortality rates and YPLL numbers in poor, urban, black and latino communities are a sign of injustice. A royal official relinquishing privilege and status and a son being healed are a sign that God’s activity is taking root.
What we do or fail to do gives a sign of what our lives are committed to. What we do and fail to do as a society gives signs of what we are collectively committed to. What signs do you see in the world of both God’s liberating activity as well as injustice? What signs might God point to in your life that God’s love has taken root in you?