28-Nov-16

Gospel   MT 8:5-11

When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
The centurion said in reply,
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes;
and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Reflection:

The Roman army was divided into units of 100. The leader of each unit was known as a "centurion." The centurions were considered the elite of the Roman military, not only in bravery and ability but also in leadership.

The centurion in today's gospel was obviously a man of compassion, for he informed Jesus that his servant was "suffering dreadfully."

He also showed knowledge of the Jewish religious custom that dictated a Jew could not enter the house of a Gentile.

To avoid putting Jesus in a position of breaking the law, the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed."

There are other instances in the gospel where Jesus healed from afar; the nobleman's son (John 4:46-54) and the daughter of the Canaanite woman (Matthew 20:21-28).

But, Jesus was "amazed" that the centurion, a non-Jew, expressed belief that His "word" alone was sufficient to heal a person whether near or far away.

Jesus said to those following him,
“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith."

Before receiving communion, I echo the the words of the centurion,
"Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed."

Do I simply recite the words? Or do I, like the centurion, truly believe that Jesus' word alone can heal my soul?

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”     - - Mark 9: 23-24