Fr Paul reads from John’s Gospel (4: 43-54) today, where Jesus goes to Galilee and is asked by a man when he arrives to come and heal his son.

Fr Paul says that today’s Gospel, appears in the other Gospels except Mark’s. This account in John’s Gospel, reminds us that in the time of Jesus, Galilee is ruled by Herod and the official also reminds us of the Gentiles’ faith in Jesus. We are told at the end of this Gospel that this healing is the second sign given by Jesus.

Furthermore, we need to be aware that the first twelve chapters of John contain seven signs and are known as the book of signs. In John, we also need to understand that miracles are also called signs and they are signs of spiritual values and of Jesus’ own glory.

This second sign that we hear of in this Gospel is the gift of life. It has overtones, that for John, Jesus has come to give eternal life.

For our reflection today, Fr Paul asks us to centre our thoughts that this sign is about the gift of life and about the coming eternal life promised to us by Jesus.