 Prepare to Listen. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. (Jn 1:5)
Prayerfully Read John 5:18-24 18For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the Sabbath but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God. 19Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own but only what he sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. 20The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. 21Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. 22The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, 23so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.” Prayerfully Wonder The Jews needed the light, but preferred the darkness. They wanted to kill Jesus because, they said, 1) He made himself, and 2) equal to God. Jesus’ response begins with his favorite phrase, very truly, I tell you (vv. 19, 24). The words are an alert, so listen up, folk. We need to hear, so that we live it, what he says. His first very truly, I tell you, rejects the accusations. To say he made himself is “utterly false. Jesus does not make himself anything, for God makes him what he is.”[1] He does nothing on his own. He can only do what the Father does. That he was equal to God, both is and isn’t correct. True, Jesus’ power is equal to God, he is able to give life and judge, thus must be honored with the same honor given to God. Jesus claimed unity with the Father, evidenced “as love and obedience,”[2] rather than equality. Equality implies there are two beings (gods). Jesus and the Father are united, one in all they do and say. It’s this oneness Jesus prayed for his disciples at the end of his life—may they be one as we are one (Jn 17:11). The second very truly, I tell you, is both encouragement and warning. The warning is for those who, like the crippled man he made well or the Jews who accused him, fail to believe in him. The encouragement is for those who are unsure, for whatever reason, that God will accept them. Anyone, says Jesus. No boundaries, no restrictions. Anyone who hears his word and believes he was sent from God, has, not one day will receive, but right now has eternal life and will not be judged unworthy. Right now, they have life. If you believe Jesus’ words, you’ve already passed from death to life. How then will you live today? Prayerfully Respond Help me truly live today, Lord, in belief and gratitude for the life you have given me to live in the now. Amen. Live obediently. Listen to Jesus’ very truly, I tell you. [1] Neyrey, Jerome H. The Gospel of John. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. 2007, p. 107. [2] Newbigin, Lesslie. The Light Has Come. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1982, p. 67.
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 Prepare to Listen. In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
Prayerfully Read John 5:9b-18 or 1-18 (if you’re unfamiliar with this story) Now that day was a Sabbath. 10So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” 11But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’ ” 12They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” 13Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there. 14Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he was doing such things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, and I also am working.” 18For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the Sabbath but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God. Prayerfully Wonder The crippled man Jesus made well isn’t my favorite Bible character! When asked if he wanted health (v. 6), he whined, blamed others for not helping him. When rebuked by the Jews for breaking the Sabbath, he shifted the blame to Jesus. After learning Jesus’ identity, he betrayed him to the Jews. He never expressed gratitude nor belief in Jesus. Since John’s purpose was “so that you may believe” (20:31), it makes me wonder why this story was preserved. What do you think? When Jesus met the man in the temple, he warned him not to sin anymore. Was his sin his reluctance to be healed—he blamed others? Or was it his failure to recognize and believe in Jesus—he betrayed him instead? He needed to please “the Jews” and couldn’t go against the tide and believe in Jesus. He’s an example not to emulate, a warning to us to be courageous about following Jesus as taught in the Gospels and not as pictured by popular opinion. “The Jews” aren’t identified. Maybe they were the religious authorities, or maybe people in general, those who insisted on adherence to their interpretations of the law. We know people like this; perhaps we too behave this way and judge those unlike us. The story reminds us that following Jesus isn’t about making others like us. We can’t behave like “the Jews” in this story and call ourselves Christian. Sometimes, like Jesus we need to break the laws that harm rather than heal. Reflect on your life. With whom do you most identify in this story? What light are you seeing about yourself; about Jesus? Prayerfully Respond Lord, you lived courageously, true to your Father’s will even when it meant breaking the law. Help me live more like, with courage and a willingness to be different. Amen. Live obediently. Live courageously.  Prepare to Listen. In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
Prayerfully Read John 4:31-38 31Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” 34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” Prayerfully Wonder The disciples returned with food. The woman left without water (v. 28). They all misunderstood Jesus because they thought too literally. Jesus’ teaching isn’t always easy to follow because he so often uses literal terms—water, food—to teach non-literal truths. He stretches our minds, urges us to stop thinking literally and to see the bigger picture, search for the spiritual meaning. The woman received a spiritual lesson about water, the disciples got one about food. They couldn’t understand why Jesus rejected the food they brought from the village. Who could have fed him, they wondered. Did the woman give him food? Surely Jesus wouldn’t touch food from a Samaritan? That was unthinkable to their literal minds. Jesus made them think deeper. He gave them a spiritual lesson about food. He said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.” He went on to talk about a harvest ready for reaping, not the harvest in the literal fields, but one in the spiritual field, a harvest of people. Others had labored to prepare the people. The disciples would reap that for which they did not labor. The kingdom of God is about team work, not one-person shows. “One sows and another reaps.” Neither is better. We work together, or the work doesn’t get done. This is the will of God; this is food for the soul. What challenged you in Jesus’ teaching that looks beyond the literal? Prayerfully Respond Lord, help me think beyond the literal to discern the spiritual lessons, the food and water for my soul so that I do my bit in the labor to bring in the harvest. Amen Live obediently. Search for the spiritual lesson in the literal.  Prepare to Listen. In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
Prayerfully Read John 4:1-8 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John” 2(although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized), 3he left Judea and started back to Galilee. 4But he had to go through Samaria. 5So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. 7A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) Prayerfully Wonder I was always taught that John primarily focused on Jesus as Son of God. His humanity takes a back seat. But that’s not exactly accurate. John tells here that Jesus was tired, hot, thirsty, hungry. It doesn’t get more human than that. Yet, he reacts unlike most humans. When we succeed, gain popularity, we want more of it. Not Jesus. When he learned that the Pharisees had heard he was “making and baptizing more disciples than John,” he left Judea. He didn’t need to feed his ego or bask in the glow of a successful mission. He rejected popularity and walked away. Would you? He then did something else many of us wouldn’t do. He chose to enter hostile Samaria. It was the shortest route from Judea to Galilee, but devout Jews took the long route to avoid contact with the despised Samaritans. Not Jesus. “He had to go through Samaria,” says John. Giving in to weariness, he stopped at a common well, while the disciples went for food. He was alone, but not for long. A woman showed up. She could have left in fear of a stranger and Jew. Jesus could have ignored her. She remained and was surprised when Jesus, ignoring her sex and race, spoke to her. “Give me a drink,” he said. He was tired, hot, thirsty, hungry and needed water, even from someone regarded as an enemy. There’s really nothing in these verses to say that Jesus was more than fully human. Others verses do, but this passage reveals Jesus as one of us, embracing his humanity, living as God intended humans to live. How can you embrace your humanity and live more faithfully? Prayerfully Respond Lord Jesus, you lived truly, embracing your humanity with all its weaknesses yet remaining God-centered. Help me live more like you today. Amen. Live obediently. Embrace Jesus’ humanity, and your own.  Prepare to Listen. In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
Prayerfully Read John 3:31-36 31The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. 33Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. 34He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life but must endure God’s wrath. Prayerfully Wonder Where Jesus came from was under discussion. The Jewish rulers knew from where he came and therefore rejected him as Messiah because they believed, “when the Messiah comes no one will know where he is from.” However, later, they rejected him because they said, “we do not know where he comes from.”[1] Today’s reading addresses the problem and ends with a warning to the reader. Where did Jesus come from? Unlike John who was “of the earth,” Jesus is the “one who comes from above,” and is, therefore “above all.” In part, this is why Jesus is often difficult to understand or accept. He’s from a realm that is unknown, a mystery to us earthlings. All we can do is accept his testimony, however little we comprehend. In accepting we’ll know God is true. It reminds me of St. Anselm of Canterbury’s well-known claim, “For I do no seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand.” The one “from above” expects belief, not understanding. Keep believing and seeking and maybe you’ll understand one day. But not many are willing to walk this road of uncertainty, not-knowing. So the passage concludes with a warning--whoever believes…, whoever disobeys. Two choices. Believe or disobey “the Son,” that is, the one from above whom we struggle to understand. Disobedience is arrogantly thinking we can understand. Believing is the way of humbly admitting our not-knowing, living in faith/trust. What do you think about these verses? What surprised, frustrated, comforted, frightened you? Prayerfully Respond Lord, I believe you are from above, from God and speak God’s Word, give God’s Spirit. Help me keep believing despite my questions and doubts, perhaps one day I’ll get it. Amen. Live obediently. Believe, despite your doubts. [1] John 7:27 and 9:29.  Prepare to Listen. In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
Prayerfully Read John 3:22-30 22After this Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. 23John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there, and people kept coming and were being baptized. 24(John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison.) 25Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew. 26They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27John answered, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. 28You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’ 29He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. 30He must increase, but I must decrease.” Prayerfully Wonder A controversy[1] about purification arose between John’s disciples and an unidentified Jew. Yet John’s disciples didn’t complain about that, but about Jesus’ growing popularity; all were going to him. They believed there was a limited supply and thus, if some increased, others would decrease. If Jesus gained disciples, then John would lose them. And who wants to be a loser? We can feel for them. John was no fool. He saw Jesus’ success and realized if people were going to Jesus, they wouldn’t come to him. Yet he didn’t see this as loss and refused to support his disciples’ envy. He pointed out that Jesus’ achievement was “from above,” from God. He also reminded them that his entire mission was to prepare the way for Messiah and then go out of business. Like the groom’s friend, his duty was “to lead the bride to the bridegroom and to keep watch outside the bridal chamber,”[2] and not to become a rival. Instead of making him envious, John was delighted. “My joy has been fulfilled,” he said. Therefore, he could humbly say, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Jesus must gain, I must lose. Imagine saying of a rival at work: She must get all the profits that I helped gain. I’ll take nothing. That’s unheard of in our competitive culture. Decrease? No ways! But, for Jesus to increase, you and I must decrease our attachments to ego, wanting more stuff, more success, more whatever. Instead, practice John’s humility. Decrease so that Jesus can increase in you. In what areas of your life do you need to decrease so that Jesus can increase? Prayerfully Respond Lord, show me the way to live so that I decrease in all that hinders living a life in which others can see you increasing in me. Amen. Live obediently. Decrease so Jesus can increase in you. [1] The Greek term translated discussion, means controversy or dispute. [2] Brodie, Thomas L. The Gospel According to John. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 1993, p. 206.  Prepare to Listen. In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
Prayerfully Read John 2:23-25 23 When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. 24But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25and needed no one to testify about anyone, for he himself knew what was in everyone. Prayerfully Wonder It was Passover and Jesus was in Jerusalem. He’d already created a stir with his first act in Jerusalem of cleansing the temple Jerusalem. It infuriated the Jews (the Rulers and temple guardians; 2:13-22), but that didn’t stop Jesus from performing more signs (plural), none of which John tells. Many, who saw them, “believed in his name.” We know that all who believed in his name are given power to become God’s children (Jn 1:12). Therefore, you’d think Jesus would be ecstatic with such early success. But it seems he would have none of it. He rejected their belief; didn’t trust (the same Greek word translated believed) himself to them. His reaction is surprising. Nathanael, a skeptic, was welcomed by Jesus, who saw in Nathanael honest disbelief, yet accepted him. Jesus knew what was in the hearts of the many who believed in him, but gave no welcome invitation. No reason is given. It’s up to us to wonder. We’ll learn about ourselves, see what Jesus sees and knows. Jesus never made it easy to follow him. He wanted more than believing in his name. What the more is will be different for each of us and requires honest wondering about Jesus’ rejection of people who believed in his name. Wonder about: What constitutes an acceptable response to Jesus? Or, and perhaps more important: What does Jesus know that’s in me, my true self? In seeking answers to these questions, you’ll learn what you need to know today, what the more to believing is for you. Prayerfully Respond Lord Jesus, you know what is in all people. You know me fully. Lead me to the truth about myself so that I can discern the more than saying ‘I believe in you,’ the more that affects all I say, do and truly am. Amen. Live obediently. Live the more than believing today.  Prayerfully Read John 1:43-51
43The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ 46Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ 47When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ 48Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ 49Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ 50Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ 51And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’ Prayerfully Wonder Nathanael was a either a skeptic or over-cautious. He knew people who’d been led astray by wanna-be-messiahs, and wasn’t going to one of them. So when Philip claimed, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth,” his guard went up. He mocked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip didn’t know about that. But he did know that he’d been summoned to follow Jesus. Instead of wasting time to convince the skeptical, cautious Nathanael, he invited: “Come and see.” The same as Jesus’ invitation to John’s two disciples who followed him. [1] Nathanael accepted and went to see. As soon as he saw him, Jesus said, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” He came to see Jesus and discovered that Jesus saw him first, saw the true Nathanael. In surprise he asked, “Where did you come to know me?” He’d never met Jesus before, never so much as heard of him until Philip came looking for him. Jesus answered him. Under the fig tree, hiding under the leaves, rather like Adam and Eve who hid under leaves from the fig tree after their act of disobedience. And, just as God saw through their shame to their naked self, so too Jesus saw through Nathanael’s shelter to his naked and true self. What he saw was good—an Israelite with no deceit. Nathanael’s skepticism and caution dropped away and he knew Jesus. He worshipped. Jesus sees you today, your true self. What might he say of you and what might be your response? Prayerfully Respond Lord, help me follow Philip’s example. Instead of arguing in order to win another to you, may I too invite them to come and see. Amen. Live obediently. Rest in being seen and known. [1] John 1:35-39.  Prepare to Listen. For it is the God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Prayerfully Read John 1:19-28 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord” ’, as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’ This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing. Prayerfully Wonder John the Baptizer is introduced to readers as a witness come to testify to the Light. When asked to testify about himself, John identified himself as the voice, as told about in Isaiah. The Jews, meaning the Pharisees and not all ethnic Jews, had a right to know who John was. They were the guardians of correct doctrine and belief. John, an unknown posted on the outskirts on the wrong side of the Jordan and not in the Temple, was unsettling the people with his new baptism of repentance. “Who are you?” was a legitimate question. But John refuses to give a direct answer. He delights us with his brief and puzzling responses. He begins with who he is not. The writer is emphatic, giving a threefold emphasis—he confessed, did not deny, but confessed— he was not the Messiah. They hadn’t asked if he was! When they tried with specific questions, John was abrupt—I am not; No. He refused to state his name or say who he is. Of course they insisted, and that’s when John said, “I am the voice,” the one prophet Isaiah wrote about. John, the preacher, the baptizer is nothing, has no importance. It’s as if John says, ‘Don’t look at me. Look up beyond me, listen and wait for me to point to you the right one. He’s already standing among you.’ John’s awe of Jesus the Messiah and his humble willingness to remain unimportant, just a voice, is obvious. He is not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal. How willing are you to remain nothing more than a humble voice to the truth in Jesus? Prayerfully Respond Help me be more like John, O Lord. Just the voice ready to point people to you. Amen. Live obediently. Practice humility this Lent.  Prepare to Listen. For it is the God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Prayerfully Read John 1:16-18 16From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. Prayerfully Wonder Lent is the season in the church year when we’re asked to think about our mortality and to practice self-denial. Sounds depressing but it isn’t. As Butler Bass notes, thinking about death and our mortality “may plunge us in exactly the opposite direction in an affirmation of life and the fragility of our existence.”[1] John’s prologue to the Light of the World plunges us in the direction of life. It isn’t until v. 17 that John reveals the Word’s name—Jesus Christ/Messiah. After profound words about the Word, we may be surprised to read that “grace and truth came through” him. Not some spectacular work. Grace and truth. Two practices most needed in the world today. Grace and truth have to do with freedom from all that enslaves and oppresses, all that cruelly denigrates and mocks, all that leads to death and defeat. Jesus Christ came to help us see and live in grace and truth, in an over-abundance—grace upon grace, truth after truth. Not only that, Jesus also came to make God known to the world that didn’t know God (v. 10). The world couldn’t see God. Jesus, who is “close to the Father’s heart,” came to make God known, and therefore seen. Yes, we can see God; the Light of the World shines on God; we can now gaze on and experience God’s sacred presence, know God in an intimate relationship. We’ll know we’re gazing on God when grace and truth are dominate what we experience. How are grace and truth experienced in your life today? Prayerfully Respond Lord Jesus, you have made God known to us so that we can see God and see the world more clearly. Keep helping me to see and experience grace and truth. Live obediently. Live with grace and truth. [1] Butler Bass, Diana. A Beautiful Year. New York, NY: St. Marin’s Essentials. 2025, p. 113. |
AuthorI've been intrigued with John's Gospel since I was a child. Every time I read it, I learn something new. Come and learn with me. Archives
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