Christ's Journey Through Samaria

Chapter 14
MATT. 4:12; MARK 1:14; JOHN 4:1-42
WHEN JESUS HEARD that John had been imprisoned, He withdrew with His disciples north to Galilee. With John gone, his followers would be looking to Jesus for leadership; but He did not desire a large following at this time. The Pharisees were already alarmed at His influence, and such an influx of disciples from John's encampment would have led the Jewish leaders to drastic action.
He took the route through Samaria. This was usually dangerous, because of the centuries-old feud between the Jews and Samaritans; but Jesus was making His journey in May, a month after the paschal season, when the Samaritans would not be on the lookout for pilgrims returning from Jerusalem.
By noon of the second day, Jesus and the disciples had reached Sichar, about thirty miles north of Jerusalem. This was the site of Jacob's Well, and Jesus, wearied by the long journey, sat down to rest beside the famous well while His disciples went off to buy food in the town.
Presently a Samaritan woman came up to draw water, and Jesus said to her:
"Give Me to drink."
His speech marked Him as a Galilean Jew, and the woman looked at Him in surprise. "How is it," she said, "that Thou, although Thou art a Jew, dost ask drink of me, who am a Samaritan woman." But Jesus said:
"If thou didst know the gift of God, and who it is who says to thee, 'Give Me to drink,' thou, perhaps, wouldst have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water."
Taking His words literally, the woman protested that He had not even an implement to draw water from the well. How, then, could He draw living water (by which was meant spring water)? Besides, Jacob and his children had been satisfied with this well. Did the stranger pretend to have access to anything better? Was He greater than Jacob?
Continuing with the comparison of His grace to spring water, Jesus said:
"Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. He, however, who drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up unto life everlasting."
The woman was now anxious to bring this odd conversation to an end. Abruptly, and in a tone of irony, she said, "Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst, or come here to draw." But Jesus passed to another theme: her readiness for His grace.
"Go, call thy husband and come here."
Surprised, and somewhat disconcerted, she replied that she had no husband. And Jesus said:
"Thou hast said well, 'I have no husband,' for thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. In this thou hast spoken truly."

She was convinced now that He was a seer, a prophet; and he was touched by the fact that He had deigned to talk with her, though He had this knowledge of her sins. Sincerely desirous of changing her life, she broached the subject of religion, presuming that Jesus would also wish her to forsake her Samaritan cult. Pointing toward Mount Garizim, the site of the Samaritans' temple, she said: "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you [that is, the Jews] say that at Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." And Jesus answered:
"Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeks such to worship Him. God is spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth."
"I know," the woman said, "that Messiah is coming (who is called Christ), and when He comes He will tell us all things."
Then Jesus revealed Himself to her, saying:
"I who speak with thee am He."
It was at this moment that the disciples returned. They were surprised to find Jesus conversing with a Samaritan woman; but they made no remark, for they esteemed Him too highly to presume to criticize His manners.
Presenting the food they had brought, they urged Him to eat, but He said:
"I have food to eat of which you do not know."
They looked at one another inquiringly. Had some one brought Him food during their absence? He went on:
"My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, to accomplish His work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Well, I say to you, lift up your eyes and behold that the fields are already white for the harvest. And he who reaps receives a wage, and gathers fruit unto life everlasting, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together. For herein is the proverb true, 'One sows, another reaps.' I have sent you to reap that on which you have not labored. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."
Meanwhile, the woman had told the people of her encounter with Jesus. Impressed, they went to Him and persuaded Him to stay with them two days. And when they had heard Him speak, they knew, independent of her testimony, that He was "in truth the Savior of the world."

The Samaritans were hated by the Jews; they were looked upon as heretics, outsiders, inferiors. Normally a Jew would not even talk to a Samaritan. Hence, the Samaritan woman was surprised that Christ addressed her. His disciples, too, wondered that He spoke to her. But to our Lord she was a person in need of help; in that situation all racial taboos were insignificant. Is my kindness and helpfulness limited to those of my class, of my race, of my nation? Would I give myself in personal service to those outside my own circle?

Christ Begins Teaching in Judea

Chapter 13
MATT. 14:3-5; MARK 6:17-2O; LUKE 3:19-20; JOHN 2:13-3:36
AFTER THE MIRACLE AT CANA, Jesus went with Mary, His disciples, and some relatives whom He had met at the wedding, to Capharnaum, a large town on the west shore of the Lake of Tiberias. At Capharnaum He probably joined one of the caravans of pilgrims descending to Jerusalem, for the time of the Passover was approaching, when He was to begin His public ministry in the Holy City.
Arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus found the temple crowded with the merchants who exploited the needs of the worshipers. There were money-changers, who supplied local currency to foreign pilgrims, and vendors of sacrificial oxen, sheep, and doves.
Wrathful at this desecration of the temple, Jesus took a whip and drove out the temple merchants, saying:
"Take these things away, and do not make the house of My Father a house of business."
When the Jews protested this expulsion and asked for a sign of His authority to abolish an established custom, Jesus said:
"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
He referred to His resurrection, but they understood His words literally and argued that what had taken forty-six years to build could not be restored in three days. His disciples, however, remembered this prophetic speech when it had been fulfilled in His resurrection.
One night while Jesus was in Jerusalem He was visited by a Pharisee leader named Nicodemus who, unlike his fellows, was impressed by Christ's miracles and sincerely desired to know more of His teaching.
"Rabbi," he said, "we know that Thou hast come a teacher from God, for no one can work these signs that Thou workest unless God be with him."
Then Jesus told Him of the spiritual transformation that was required of those who would attain salvation.
"Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Nicodemus was somewhat disillusioned. Here were no secret doctrines, no talismans, nothing but a prosaic notion about rebirth. With somewhat weary cynicism, he asked how anyone could be born again. Could he re-enter his mother's womb for this rebirth? But Jesus said:
"Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not wonder that I said to thee, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it will, and thou hearest its sound but dost not know where it comes from or where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Again Nicodemus claimed he did not understand how such things could be. And Jesus said:
"Thou art a teacher in Israel and dost not know these things? Amen, amen, I say to thee, We speak of what We know, and We bear witness to what We have seen; and Our witness you do not receive. If I have spoken of earthly things to you, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I speak to you of heavenly things? And no one has ascended into heaven except Him who has descended from heaven: the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that those who believe in Him may not perish, but may have life everlasting."
After the Passover Jesus left Jerusalem for the country along the Jordan. He remained in Judea with His disciples for some time, preaching and, through the disciples, baptizing. At the same time John the Baptist was baptizing farther north on the Jordan, near Salim. Argument arose about the relative merits of these two baptisms, and some of John's disciples came and told him that Christ, who had been with John at Bethany beyond the Jordan, was baptizing and attracting large crowds. But John rejoiced to hear this news, saying, "No one can receive anything unless it is given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said, 'I am not the Christ but have been sent before Him.' He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices exceedingly at the voice of the bridegroom. This my joy, therefore, is made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.
"He who comes from above is over all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks. He who comes from heaven is over all. And He bears witness to that which He has seen and heard, and His witness no one receives. He who has received His witness has set his seal on this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for not by measure does God give the Spirit. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; he who is unbelieving towards the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him."
Now, John had for some time been denouncing the sins of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, particularly his incestuous marriage with Herodias, the wife of his half-brother, Philip. Herod had begun an affair with her during a visit to Rome, where she resided with her husband, and had easily persuaded her to elope with him, for she was dissatisfied with her status as a private citizen. She was infuriated by John's charge, and to placate her, perhaps, as much as for any political reasons, Herod gave orders for John to be imprisoned in his fortress at Machaerus, in Perea.

The Jews regarded Christ's cleansing of the temple as presumption, an affront to their authority, a reflection on their care of God's house. Without looking into the merits of the case, without examining their own consciences, all of them—Nicodemus excepted—took their stand against Him. When we are criticized, what is our reaction? Anger at the critic, or a serious examination of conscience to see how we have prompted the criticism?

Holy Family in Nazareth

The Holy Family at Nazareth
is the model for the Christian family

THE SCRIPTURES sum up the hidden life of the Holy Family in Nazareth in a few words. That should not make us forget that there were weeks, months and years of ordinary family life with all its joys and anxieties and that this period was by far the longest in the life of Christ on earth.
Jesus was a true human child; it was the will of God that He grow in the same way and under many of the same circumstances as ourselves. It was Mary's part to do for Him all that a mother does for a child, in nursing, carrying, and dressing Him as well as in teaching Him to walk, to speak and to read. Mary also did the cooking, sewing and washing for the Family. Saint Joseph provided for the Family through his carpenter's trade. What his Family enjoyed or had to do without depended entirely on what he could provide through his labor. When Saint Joseph died, Jesus provided in the same way for His own and His Mother's needs.
This Holy Family, so observant of religious duties, so resigned to the will of God in the trials of their obscure life, is a perfect model for Catholic families. Joseph is a model of fatherly vigilance and care; Mary, an example of love, modesty and faith; Jesus, a model of obedience which children can admire and imitate.

'And He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was subject to them." LUKE 2:51
IT is THE WILL OF GOD that all men be saints. Since family life is the normal state for most men, God wills that there be married saints. The sanctity of many fathers and mothers of families has been publicly recognized.
SAINT THOMAS MORE (1478-1535), born in London, was elected at the age of 26 to the English Parliament. The next year he was happily married to Jane Colt; and, before her untimely death in 1511, four children were born. Soon after her death he married a widow, Alice Middleton. In public life Thomas More rose rapidly, becoming finally Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII. He fearlessly opposed Henry's attempt to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and to have himself named supreme head of the Church in England. He understood well that his stand was ultimately going to result in his death; so, he spent his time preparing both himself and his family for that day, which came on July 6, 1535, when he was beheaded.
MOTHER ELIZABETH SETON (1774-1821) was born in New York City of non-Catholic parents. On January 25, 1794, she married William Seton. While with close friends in Italy, where her husband died, she came to know the Catholic faith, and was received into the Church in New York in 1805. She opened a school for girls in 1808 in Baltimore, and when she and the other women conducting the school formed a religious community, she was elected the superior of the new "Sisters of Charity." The hospitals, and schools operated by the more than ten thousand Sisters of Charity today owe their existence, under God, to her inspiration.

Jesus Attends a Wedding at Cana

Chapter 12
JOHN 2:1-11
ACCOMPANIED BY THESE FIRST DISCIPLES, JESUS then continued on His way north to Galilee. On the third day after their departure from Bethany they had reached Cana, the native town of Nathanael, a few miles from Nazareth. There was a marriage feast in progress there and Jesus and His disciples were invited, possibly out of courtesy to Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was also a guest.
Unfortunately, the arrival of six extra guests occasioned an embarrassing circumstance, for the wine supply was soon exhausted. Mary noticed that the wine had run short and, knowing that her Son could help the young couple in this difficulty, went and told Jesus what had happened.
Amused at His mother's anxiety over this little contretemps, Jesus replied quizzically, with feigned reluctance:
"What wouldst thou have Me do, woman? My hour has not yet come."
But Mary was familiar with her Son's humor. She knew He
would not refuse her this favor, and she told the servants to report to Him and carry out whatever orders He gave them.
Standing in the courtyard were six stone water-jars. They were quite large, each holding about twenty gallons, for the Jewish ritual of purification required that the hands be washed twice at each meal, and a great deal of water was consumed in this way. Sending out the servants, Jesus said:
"Fill the jars with water."
And when they had filled them to the brim, He said:
"Draw out now, and take to the chief steward."
When the chief steward tasted the contents of the jars, he found it to be wine of excellent quality and, not knowing the source, called the bridegroom and remonstrated with him because, unlike most hosts, he had saved the best wine until the end of the feast.
Through this first miracle Jesus preserved the dignity of the feast and manifested His power to His disciples. Now indeed "His disciples believed in Him."

Christ deigned to honor the wedding feast with His presence. In spite of the pressing demands of His ministry He took time to join the people in their wholesome celebrations of events important to them. Are we so absorbed in our plans for doing "great things" for the Kingdom of God that we neglect the small, gracious acts of charity upon which alone that Kingdom can be built?

The First Disciples

Chapter 11
JOHN 1:35-5
THE FOLLOWING DAY John again pointed out Jesus to two disciples who were with him. "Behold the lamb of God," he said. Forthwith the two disciples followed Jesus, who turned to them and said:
"What is it you seek?"
"Rabbi," they said, "where dwellest Thou?" And Jesus replied:
"Come and see."
Thereupon these two, Andrew and John, followed Jesus to His dwelling and remained with Him.
The next day Andrew sought out his brother, Simon, and told him excitedly that they had found the Messiah. Then he brought his brother to Jesus, who said to him:
"Thou art Simon, the son of John; thou shall be called Cephas."
Jesus found a fourth disciple the following day, as He was about to leave Bethany for Galilee; and He invited him also:
"Follow Me."
The new recruit was Philip, a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, as were also Andrew, Simon, and John. Like those who had preceded him into Christ's following, he was eager to share his discovery, and he hastened to inform his friend Nathanael.
Nathanael was skeptical that the Messiah could come from Nazareth, but Philip told him to come and see for himself. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, He said:
"Behold a true Israelite in whom there is no guile.''
And revealing His preternatural knowledge, He added:
Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee."
"Nathanael then avowed his faith, but Jesus said:
"Because I said to thee that I saw thee under the fig tree, thou dost believe. Greater things than these shalt thou see. Amen, amen, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

Christ calls each of us to be His disciple. My role may not seem to be so important, and indeed may not be so striking, as another's, but in the plan of God each man has a distinct vocation. Am I sufficiently aware of this and do I endeavor to use my talents to the best of my ability in the circumstances in which I have been placed by God?

The Devil tempts Jesus

Chapter 10
MATT. 4:1-11; MARK 1:12-13; LUKE 4:1-13; JOHN 1:19-34
AFTER His BAPTISM Jesus was moved by the Holy Spirit to withdraw to a rocky wasteland west of the Jordan. He remained there fasting for forty days; and at the end of this heroic retreat, when He was hungry and exhausted, the devil came to tempt Him. He suspected that Jesus was the Messiah but hoped desperately to overcome Him. In an attempt to induce Jesus to use His miraculous powers in His own behalf, the tempter said, "If Thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread."
In response Jesus quoted from the Book of Deuteronomy: "It is written, 'Not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.' "
Undaunted, the devil then carried Jesus to a high place in the Temple at Jerusalem. Using in his turn a text from the Bible, he challenged Jesus to cast Himself down, saying, "If Thou art the Son of God, throw Thyself down; for it is written, 'He will give His angels charge concerning Thee; and upon their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.' "
Turning to the Scriptures for His answer, Jesus said:
"It is written further, 'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.' "
Far from persuading Jesus to perform a miracle, the devil had even failed to discover whether He was indeed the Messiah; but he was still persistent. Taking Jesus to a mountain height, he offered Him all earthly glory if He would worship him. But Jesus dismissed him:
"Begone, Satan! for it is written, 'The Lord thy God shalt thou worship and Him only shalt thou serve.' "
Then angels came and ministered to Him.
Meanwhile, John the Baptist was continuing his preaching, proclaiming the coming of Christ. When Jesus returned to Bethany after His retreat in the desert, John publicly recognized Him as the Messiah, saying, "Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!" And he revealed the wonderful things he had witnessed when Jesus was baptized.

Temptation is not sin. If it were, Christ would never have submitted to these assaults of Satan. Every victory over temptation is an advance in grace. To point out another means of growth in grace, Christ gave us a pattern of endurance in temptation. Do we look upon our temptations this way, or do we allow ourselves to be discouraged when beset by them?

John Babtizes Jesus

Chapter 9
MATT. 3:1-17; MARK 1:1-11; LUKE 3:1-22
IN THE FIFTEENTH YEAR of the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius (A.D. 27) a herald appeared in Judea to prepare the Jewish people for the coming of the Messiah. In the fall of that year John the Baptist came into the wilderness along the banks of the lower Jordan and began preaching and baptizing, calling on the people to repent and reform.
The voice of prophecy had been silent for over four hundred years, and pilgrims came from all Israel to see this messenger from God. To those who believed him and who sincerely wished to reform their lives, he gave practical counsel. But the Pharisees and Sadducees, who sent scouts to spy on him, he bitterly denounced as a "brood of vipers."
John plainly told the people that he was not Christ but His forerunner; the baptism he performed was merely a symbolic cleansing with water, but he announced the coming of one whose baptism would really forgive sin: "I indeed baptize you with water. But one mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."
Early in the following year Jesus came down from Galilee to Judea to be baptized by John. Though John was the cousin of Jesus, he did not recognize Him when He came to be baptized. However, he must have had an intimation that there was something unusual about this pilgrim, for he protested that it would be more fitting for Jesus to baptize him. But Jesus said: "Let it be so now, for so it becomes us to fulfill all justice" Thereupon John consented. He led Jesus into the Jordan and baptized Him as he had done with the others who came to him. And after Jesus had come up from the water, as He stood praying, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove, and a voice was heard from above saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

At a word from Christ, John acted. He did not wait or demand a divine sign before carrying out what seemed to be the will of God. His prompt obedience was immediately rewarded—he was permitted to behold God's public acclaim of Christ as His Son. Do we procrastinate in our service of God, excusing ourselves that we have had no positive sign of what He wants us to do?

Part II, The Beginning of Christ's Public Life

IT WAS probably in the beginning of the year 28 that Jesus left Nazareth and began His preparation for His ministry among the Jewish people. He journeyed to the place on the lower Jordan where John was preaching and baptizing and there presented Himself for baptism. He then withdrew to the desert west of the Jordan, where, after forty days of fasting, He was tempted by the devil. After this retreat Jesus returned to the Jordan and was pointed out by John as the Messiah. Five of the Baptist's disciples—all of them Galileans—were attracted to Jesus and He now traveled north with them to Galilee. The third day of their journey brought them to Cana in Galilee, and here, at a wedding feast, He performed His first miracle, taking this eventful step at the request of Mary, who was one of the guests.
From Cana Jesus went with Mary and His new followers to Capharnaum, on the west coast of the Sea of Galilee. He tarried there with them for a few days, then went down to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. In Jerusalem He formally opened His public life by driving from the temple the vendors and money-changers. The Pharisees were outraged, but one of them was impressed by Christ's action and came to Him one night for instruction. After this interview Jesus left Jerusalem and spent some time preaching with His disciples in the countryside. On learning that John the Baptist had been imprisoned, He and His followers returned to Galilee. On the way north, Jesus converted a Samaritan woman and many of her fellow townsmen.

Hidden Life of Christ

Chapter 8
LUKE 2:39-52
THE CHILDHOOD AND EARLY MANHOOD of Christ were passed in the quiet retreat of Nazareth. Joseph worked at his carpentry. Mary performed the household chores common to the Jewish housewives of her time. The Divine Child rendered to both all the services a boy His age could perform. Externally, the lives of these three resembled the lives of their neighbors and countrymen.
In the Law it was prescribed that all male Israelites should celebrate the three great Jewish feasts, the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. In the time of Christ only those in Judea were considered obliged to worship in Jerusalem. However, pious Jews even from more distant parts of Palestine, like Galilee, would often come to Jerusalem, at least for the Passover. Joseph and Mary were among those who, though not obliged, annually went to Jerusalem.
When Jesus was twelve, He accompanied His parents on their journey to the capital city for the Passover. The celebration over, Mary and Joseph started the return trip and had come a full day's journey before discovering that Jesus was not with them. Retracing their steps to Jerusalem the following day, they sought Him among their relatives and friends but could not find Him. On the third day, they discovered Him in the temple among the doctors, listening to them and asking them questions. His questions and answers were so intelligent that the doctors marveled. Mary and Joseph, witnessing this scene, were also astonished, for it was the first manifestation Jesus had made of His divine wisdom.
When the session was over, Mary inquired of Him, "Son why hast Thou done so to us? Behold, in sorrow thy father and I have been seeking Thee." Jesus said:
"How is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?"
The depth of the meaning of His words did not reach the understanding of Mary or Joseph, but His mother stored these words and events carefully in her heart.
Jesus returned to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph and was subject to them, while He continued to grow in wisdom, age and grace before God and men.

The first words of Christ recorded in the Gospels are these words spoken to His parents. They are a good index to His whole life: "I must be about My Father's business." His first interest was to serve His Father. In this too, He is our model for imitation. Our first interest should be to serve God. What comes first in our lives, our work? Our pleasure? Our luxury? Or the God we serve?