March 31, 2014

Read It:
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.

Reflect on It:
Today, there are several things that we could focus in on the gospel. I want to focus on the fact that in the beginning of the reading, we see the prophet has no honor in his native land. This makes me think how closely Jesus related to teenagers. I know sometimes it's hard for me to feel at ease here in my native land. I'm a youth minister, I hang out with teenagers all day, people don't understand. I'm sure it's similar for you. The Son of God didn't even fit into his native land! How crazy. Today is all about being okay with who we are and understanding that the Son of God didn't fit in. Be assured that he's close to you in this struggle.

Pray about It: Lord, make your home in me. You belong here. Amen.

Live It! Challenge: Today, choose someone at work or school that needs to be loved on in a particular way and do something kind for them.