Book of Common Prayer

¹ The elder sends this personal letter to his very dear friend Gaius with love in the truth.

I thank God for you and pray for you

^2-4 My heartfelt prayer for you, my very dear friend, is that you may be as healthy and prosperous in every way are you are in soul. I was delighted when the brothers arrived and spoke so highly of the sincerity of your life—obviously you are living in the truth. Nothing brings me greater joy nowadays than hearing that “my children” are living “in the truth”.

Your actions have been just right

^5-8 You are doing a fine faithful piece of work, my dear friend, in looking after the brothers who come your way, especially when you have never seen them before. They have testified to your love before the Church. It is a fine thing to help them on their way—it shows you realise the importance of what they are doing. They set out on this work, as you know for the sake of “the name” and they accept no help from non-Christians. We ought to give such men a real welcome and prove that we too are co-operating with the truth.

I know about Diotrephes

^9-10 I did write a letter to the church, but Diotrephes, who wants to be head of everything, does not recognise us! If I do come to you, I shall not forget his actions nor the slanderous things he has said against us. And it doesn’t stop there, alas, for although he wants to be leader he refuses the duty of welcoming the brothers himself, and stops those who would like to do so—he even excommunicates them!

A little piece of advice: and I shall soon be seeing you personally

¹¹ Never let evil be your example, dear friend of mine, but always good. The man who does good is God’s man, but the man who does evil does not know God at all.

¹² Everyone has a good word to say for Demetrius and the very truth speaks well of him. He has our warm recommendation also, and you know you can trust what we say about anyone.

^13-14 There is a great deal I want to say to you but I can’t put it down in black and white. I hope to see you before long, and we will have a heart-to-heart talk. Peace be with you. All our friends here send love: please give ours personally to all our friends at your end.

JOHN

Jesus, in Cana again, heals in response to faith

^43-47 After the two days were over, Jesus left and went away to Galilee. (For Jesus himself testified that a prophet enjoys no honour in his own country.) And on his arrival the people received him with open arms. For they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem during the festival, since they had themselves been present. So Jesus came again to Cana in Galilee, the place where he had made the water into wine. At Capernaum there was an official whose son was very ill. When he heard that Jesus had left Judea and had arrived in Galilee, he went off to see him and begged him to come down and heal his son, who was by this time at the point of death.

⁴⁸ Jesus said to him, “I suppose you will never believe unless you see signs and wonders!”

⁴⁹ “Sir,” returned the official, “please come down before my boy dies!”

⁵⁰ “You can go home,” returned Jesus, “your son is alive and well.” And the man believed what Jesus had said to him and went on his way.

^51-54 On the journey back his servants met him with the report, “Your son is alive and well.” So he asked them at what time he had begun to recover, and they replied: “The fever left him yesterday at one o’clock in the afternoon”. Then the father knew that this must have happened at the very moment when Jesus had said to him, “Your son is alive and well.” And he and his whole household believed in Jesus. This, then, was the second sign that Jesus gave on his return from Judea to Galilee.