Isaiah 65:17-21 / John 4:43-54
When we say that we like someone, there are many reasons for doing so.
It may be that person’s appearance, the manner of speech or the style of speaking, the sense of humour, the abilities, the resourcefulness, etc.
That person may also be popular and influential, and so we would like to be in the company of that person.
In the gospel, it was rather surprising that the Galileans received Jesus well, although He had faced rejection from them before.
But this time round, the Galileans were probably impressed with what they had seen Jesus did in Jerusalem during the festival which they too had attended.
The Galileans received Jesus well because they too wanted to get something out of Him.
So when the court official came up to Jesus to ask Him to cure his son who was at the point of death, Jesus made a rather sharp statement:
“So, you will not believe unless you see signs and portents.”
Jesus said that because the Galileans were only interested in what benefits they can get out of Him and not because they want to believe in Him.
Nonetheless, He cured the court official’s son by the authority and the power of His Word.
And the court official and his household believed in Jesus.
We believe in Jesus not only because we want Him to answer our prayers.
We believe in Jesus because only He can give us that “Joy” and “Gladness” that is mentioned in the 1st reading.
We have our needs in this world, but joy and gladness and believing in Jesus will carry us to the next world.