This week I struggled with my sermon, wondering how I should present the gospel lesson. "Should I take this angle, or should I take that angle? Should I emphasize this, or should I emphasize that? After starting and stopping like a teenager learning to drive a car with a standard transmission, I did what all good priests do; I asked my wife.

"Honey, should I preach on the Nobleman's son this week?"
"What's the passage about?" she asked.
"It's about parenting."
"Parenting? That passage isn't about parenting."
"You're right. It's not about parenting."
"Well, what's it about?"
"Christ."
"Preach on that."

So, this morning, I'm preaching on the gospel lesson and I'm preaching about our Lord. But before I can do that, you have to know this: God the Father validated the identity of God the Son through a number of miracles. The epistle to the Hebrews put it this way, "This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. ⁴God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles." 2:3-4

In other words God certified, He authenticated the identity of Christ, by a number of miraculous exploits. In St. John's gospel there are 7 such signs.

1. Turning water into wine in Cana (2:1-11)
2. Healing an official's son in Capernaum (4:46-54)
3. Healing an invalid at the Pool of Bethesda (or Bethsaida) in Jerusalem (5:1-18)
4. Feeding the 5,000 near the Sea of Galilee (6:5-14)
5. Walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee (6:16-21)
6. Healing a blind man in Jerusalem (9:1-7)
7. Raising dead Lazarus in Bethany (11:1-45)
8. In the Gospel lesson for this morning we're told about an anguished father who approaches Christ to intercede in behalf of his son. This man is a "nobleman" or a "royal officer." It means he was a member of Herod's court. Very successful. Very affluent. Very self-sufficient.

This royal officer lived in Capernaum, a small town in northern Galilee and his son is terminally ill. Mark the phrase, "He was at the point of death." It's a precise reading of the Greek text. The phrase means death is imminent. It's a certainty. His son is going to die. But this father is determined. He's not going to let go of his son that easily.

Have you ever seen the film, "Lorenzo's Oil"? It's the story of a boy afflicted with a terminal illness. But it's also a moving account of the boy's mother and father who are determined to save their son. It's a saga about parental resolve, resolution, willpower and fortitude. When their children are at risk, parents can pull off amazing feats of devotion.

This nobleman is an example of what parents can do when their children are in trouble. When he hears that Christ is 20 miles away in a town called Cana, he makes the trip, and once he finds Jesus, the Bible says he, "Implored Him to come down and heal his son."

When someone implores, they beg. They plead. Imploring usually involves emotion.

I remember the first time I heard Lori implore someone for our sons. Matthew was two years old. Somehow, and we're still not sure how, he fell in the kitchen and lost consciousness. I got to him about the time he was turning purple. He was limp as a rag doll. I picked him up and Lori ran for the phone. I remember her voice like it was yesterday. She talked to the EMT personnel like the nobleman in this story talked to Christ.

Now mark how our Lord responds to his request for help. At first sight it's unbelievable. Verse 48, "Unless you people see signs and wonders you will by no means believe."

That seems like a harsh word to a grieving father. Jesus is not talking about the nobleman. What he says is "Unless you people" or "you all" see signs and wonders "you all" will by no means believe. Christ is talking about the class of people to whom the father belongs.

It's a special class, a privileged class, who, for the most part, stood in opposition to the work of Jesus. Remember this man is a member of Herod's court. He was a member of Herod's ret-in-ou and thus a part of the governing class of Galilee.

To this class of people, Jesus said, "Unless you all, your type of people, see wonders and signs you will by no means believe."

Now notice how this father responds. He's too desperate to discuss anything like that: Verse 49 "Sir, come down before my child dies." He uses a sad word for "child." It's a term of endearment, a term of affection that could easily be translated, "my little boy" - "Lord, come to my house before my little boy dies."

Now mark what the Lord says to him in verse 50, "Go your way. Your son lives." And what does the man do? The Bible tells us, "So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way."

Illustration: Jean Francois Gravelet, also known as Charles Blondin, was the first tightrope walker to appear at Niagara Falls. On June 30, 1859 the rope was in position and at five o'clock in the afternoon Blondin started the trip that was to make history. As he began his ascent toward the Canadian shore, he paused, steadied the balancing pole and suddenly executed a back somersault. Never content merely to repeat his last performance, Blondin crossed his rope on a bicycle walked blindfolded, pushed a wheelbarrow, cooked an omelet in the centre and made the trip with his hands and feet manacled. And then, he announced that on August 19 he would cross the gorge carrying his manager, Harry Colcord, on his back. (http://www.niagara-info.com/historic.htm)

He later confessed that the trip had been a nightmare. But on that day, Harry Culcord demonstrated absolute faith. He didn't just believe that Blondin could make the trip, he entrusted his life to him.

That's the kind of faith the Nobleman had. But my question is this: How could he trust Christ to do what He said He would do? Because he believed Jesus was Who He said He was.

He is God, the Creator of the Universe, Who has no beginning-1:1-3. He is God Who came to this world in human flesh-1:14. He is greater than John the Baptist, the greatest prophet-1:19-28. He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world-1:29-36. He is the Son of God, the Messiah, the King of Israel-1:40-51.

This morning I invite you to entrust not only your children but every circumstance of your life to Christ. I want you to trust Him the way Culcord trusted Blondin, the way the Nobleman trusted out Lord. Why? Because He's trustworthy. He loves your children more than you do.

Ephes. 3:20 - "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,"

It's being called a medical miracle. Chastity Cooper, 24, of Warsaw, Kentucky, gave birth to her daughter Alexis Michelle on Monday, July 23, 2001, at University Hospital. But Chastity never knew she was pregnant. She was in a coma the entire time she was pregnant, except for the first two weeks. Her coma was the result of a car crash last November where she sustained severe head injuries. There has been some slight improvement in Chastity, but she is still described as being in a permanent vegetative state. Little Alexis was a healthy, full-term baby, weighing in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and her father Steve Cooper says that he swears that Chastity smiled when he showed her the baby. It is one of the only cases ever recorded where the mother was in a coma the entire duration of the pregnancy. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/07/26/national/main303508.shtml

Something tells me Mrs. Cooper is going to find that parenting will be a little tougher than her labor and delivery. Bill Cosby has the following to say about parenting, "No matter how calmly you try to referee, parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I'm not talking about the kids. Their behavior is always normal."

The Bible tells us that anxious mothers and fathers frequently talked to Christ about their children. In fact, when the Scriptures depict troubled parents it often in a sympathetic light.

Mark 5:22-23 has this to say about a worried father, "And when he [Jarius] saw Him [Jesus], he fell at His feet ²³and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live." "

Matthew 15:22 has this to say about a loving mother, ²²And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed." "

Then in Matthew 17:14-15 St. Matthew makes this observation about a father, "And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, ¹⁵"Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely."

If you saw the movie with Tom Hanks entitled Cast Away, you know who Wilson is. Wilson is a volleyball which floated ashore in a package after the FedEx plane, in which Hanks was riding, crashed into the sea during a bad storm. Hanks plays Chuck Noland, a fast-paced FedEx executive who gets stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific after his plane crashes, with little chance for survival. In trying to survive, he tries to start a fire with a sharp stick and cuts his hand severely. In anger, he takes the volleyball and throws it as hard as he can. When it lands he sees that his bloody hand has made an imprint which looks like a fiery head. With his finger he fashions a face in the blood - an idol, if you will. He talks to his new friend. You could even say he prays to Wilson as he attempts to make a fire. All through the film he communicates with this volleyball, asking his help and currying his friendship. The interesting thing is that nowhere in the film does Tom Hanks every talk to God. He prays to the volleyball, but never to God. Now, you have to ask yourself why he has more trust in a volleyball than God. But then you have to ask why other people trust in all kinds of things rather than God. They will talk to their friends. They will call Dr. Laura. They will read a self-help book. But they will not come to Jesus. Maybe the key word here is "self-help." We have more trust in self-help than God's help. Horoscope, tarot cards, psychics, palm readers, spiritual readers