A sower went out to sow....

One of the slogans we often use is “To see is to believe.” With it we express our lack of trust in the words of a person. We have been disappointed so many times by empty words and promises made by our fellowmen that we want to see the facts instead of hearing nice words. The Gospel tells us about an amazing man who had reason enough to doubt but trusted. He was a royal official and Jesus was a self-styled preacher turned village carpenter. It was a tremendous test of faith to be sent away just with words of assurance, not knowing until the next day whether his son was really cured. and he had no communication devices like we have now to contact home and check the condition of his son. By tomorrow, the preacher could have been far away in hiding.

John never speaks of Jesus’ “miracles.” He calls them “signs.” Signs are heavy symbols of what Jesus is doing on a deeper level. They are parables of sacramental experience. What sustains us, disciples of Jesus, is faith and trust in what happens in the sacraments. The water of baptism flows but we cannot see what our faith says happens in our hearts. We cannot see the inner cleansing and liberation from sin. After consecration, bread and wine are said to be the real Body and Blood of Christ. But what we see is the same bread and wine. Neither form nor color nor taste have changed; even under a microscope we would not discover any difference. The priest says, “I absolve you,” but we cannot check our hearts whether the sins are really gone. Faith is an adventure, a total trust in the words of Jesus and of the Church. As disciples we cannot live after the motto ‘To see is to believe” but, like the royal official, we embrace the motto, “To trust fully in Christ is to believe.” Such trust and faith is rewarded with inner joy and inner peace.

The royal official tells us more. He was not a man who got from Jesus what he wanted and then went away to forget. He and all his household became believers. It is a pity that we experience Christ’s power and healing so often in the sacraments but then go home and live the way we lived before. It is a pity that we go every year through this holy season of lent but forget soon after Easter all our promises and resolutions we made under tears before the image of the suffering Lord. May the royal official inspire us to follow his example and change after having encountered the love of God in Christ.