Jesus the Giver of Life and the Hope of Resurrection In John's Gospel: It’s Relevance To the 'Sick' Today.
Date
2006
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Tangaza University College
Abstract
People have been engaged in rhetoric questions like; what is the meaning of
Life? Is there life beyond this earthly life? In every day life you hear people lament
about life:
Life is hard, Life is boring,
and very few people would admit that they
enjoy 4fr.
When
I was first introduced to the Gospel of John as a student of Theology, I
was captivated by the optimism of the evangelist. This drew my attention to have
interest in the theme of life in John's Gospel. Unlike the synoptic Gospels that
postpone the gift of life in future, John brings the fact that life is to be lived and
enjoyed here and now.
When I was doing my pastoral work in Kadem Parish' I was so moved by the
many sick people who used to come to the dispensary. I realized that besides the
medication given, they lacked someone to give them pastoral guidance. I took it
upon myself to do this task, to talk and share with them despite their conditions I
would wind up my sharing with the word of God. We would read the word of God
and especially John's Gospel where Jesus says: "I am the Life and the
Resurrection."2
We would offer our petitions to God and leave for home. For the
two months duration I was there, the nature of the faith that the patients had
acquired was an unimaginable. I left the Parish to go back to School convinced that
what people need is the assurance of their lives in Jesus. This experience is what
motivated me to choose on the theme of Life in John's Gospel in relation to the sick.
It beats all doubt that the whole of the Bible is concerned with life, but it is in
the fourth Gospel that the notion of life comes prominently to the fore. It is the
gospel of life. It significantly begins and ends with the declaration of the life-giving mission of Jesus as the Son of God.
3 John assures us, in his gospel, that Jesus gives
life here and now. All one needs is to have faith.
This paper intends to impart into the reader's mind the precious gift of life that
Jesus gives. Even though many times we feel God is far away in our sufferings or
sickness, one thing this study will help us understand is the presence of God in our
lives all the time. A believer who trusts in Jesus has life in abundance, either in this
life or the life after. What we need to do is to have faith.
In overview, the theme of life in John's Gospel can be categorized into three
main divisions: Chapters 1 - 6, could be entitled
'Announcement of Life.'
Here Jesus
proclaims the gift of Life under various images and symbols; new wine, new birth,
living water, bread of life among others. Chapters 7 - 12, the heading could be
'Life
Refused by the World'
Jesus is opposed by the leaders of the people and there are
plans to kill him. Jesus' death will bring life to all (Jn. 12, 31-36). In chapters 13 -
21, we could talk of
'Life given to those who believe."
This part is a dramatic
presentation of Jesus death and resurrection as the source of life for all (in. 20, 31).
Description
Keywords
Jesus, Life, Resurrection, Sick