MONDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT FIRST READING: Isaiah 65:17-21 PSALM: Psalm 30:2,4-6, 11-13 GOSPEL: John 4:43-54 THEME: WORDS THAT HEAL

One simple text message from a friend can put a smile on one’s face and brighten the whole day. A text message from another person can trigger the feeling of anger and dim the light in the day. Different words have different impacts. This experience of words is enough to tell us that words are not just sounds. They carry power.

In our Gospel text for today, a royal official from Capernaum came to Jesus who was then in Cana, all in Galilee. The official made a request for healing for a sick child, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies” (Jn 4:49). The distance from Cana to Capernaum was about 15miles. Rather than walking 30miles, i.e. in and out, Jesus chose to heal from a distance.  He said to the man, "Go; your son will live" (Jn 4:50). The man believed the words of Jesus and at that very hour, his son started recovering from his illness (Jn 4:52-53).

There is power behind every word of the Lord. The whole universe was created by the word of God – “let there be light…” (Gen 1:3). Jesus would say, “…The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63).

The power of the word of the Lord to cause changes in our personal lives is unimaginable. As Christians, we read or listen to verses, chapters and books of the Bible. What impact has the word of the Lord had on my life? If half a verse brought healing to a little boy, 15miles away from where those words were uttered, then a chapter of the Bible can do much more than we can even think or imagine.

Miracles, however, do not happen merely by reading or listening to the word of the Lord. Believing is a key component in coming to a personal experience of the power of God’s word. 

The prophet Isaiah makes it clear in our First Reading that it is the will of God to do something new in our lives. Many of us rely so much on past testimonies. Now God wants to give us a new testimony. It takes faith to experience this divine move. Let us therefore turn to God today and with faith in our hearts accept wholeheartedly every word he utters to us.