Monday of the First Week of Advent
I love how St. John opens his gospel, since in just a few words he captures one of the central truths about Jesus-“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) Jesus is the WORD, and He became flesh and is given all power and authority in heaven and earth. Today’s gospel reading reminds us that we are called to be servants to the WORD (Jesus). In our humility, we must recognize that only Jesus is deserving of our trust, our praise, and our willingness to obey. If we can live out this faith and claim Him as the Lord of our lives, then we too will be able to join Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the banquet table in the kingdom of heaven.
In the reading today, the Roman centurion comes to Jesus asking for healing for his servant. Jesus agrees to come, but the centurion replies, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant shall be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me.” (Matthew 8:8-9) I think there are many reasons why Jesus is amazed with this response. First of all, this man is a foreigner- a Roman Centurion. Jesus comments that not in all of Israel is there faith like this. Not only is the centurion not Jewish, but because of his position, he is a man of power. And yet he recognizes that his authority is beneath the power of Jesus. He does not even feel worthy that Jesus should come to his home. The centurion understands that with merely a word, he can mobilize his servants to perform any task. He sees even greater power in Jesus’ word because he believes Jesus can heal his servant with merely saying so. One other striking quality of the centurion is the compassion that he shows to his servant. When he asks Jesus to come to heal him, he does not beg for healing because he wants the man to return to work, but he recognizes the great suffering of this person, and he asks Jesus to bring him healing and comfort. So what can we learn from this great testimony from the centurion? Our faith must begin with a true sense of humility. We must acknowledge that God is all great, all powerful, (and thankfully) all good. When we come to Him, we need to place our selves before Him with trust and belief that He can do all things. Just like the centurion, we are also called to bring God’s compassion and love to those who are in need of His healing and comfort. The centurion turns to Christ and believes that He alone can bring healing and wholeness to the servant. With all of the suffering in this world, we also need to turn to Christ and ask Him to speak the Word to bring healing, peace and hope to all people.
As I read this passage, I wonder what Christ would say about my faith? Do I come to the Lord in humility where I know that He alone is God and therefore all powerful? Or do I like to be in control- always the one to have the last word? Do I trust in His mercy and His love? Or do I question whether He can do all things- even bring me healing and salvation? Do I bring others mercy and compassion by bringing them and their needs to Christ? Or do I choose not to get involved with messy situations that might make life a little more difficult for me. If I want to be a servant of the WORD (Christ), I must understand that I am His creation. I have been created by Him in love, but still unworthy of His grace. Once I see myself in this manner, I can go to Him, place myself at His feet, and He will provide me healing Once I am made whole, He will then send me as His servant to those in the world who are in need of His mercy and healing. It is only when I have great faith like the centurion that this can be so. For me to have this faith, I need to know “who” the WORD is. How can you serve someone that you don’t know? It is through prayer and scripture that Jesus reveals Himself to us, so we can know His authority, as well as His mercy and compassion. With a greater understanding of all that He has done for us, I will be not only grateful, but inspired to go out and serve where He sends me. Hopefully, we will all join the faith-filled centurion at the banquet table in the kingdom of heaven, where Jesus will greet each of us by saying “welcome to you my good and faithful servant.”
Heavenly Father, you gave us the WORD- Jesus as a source of our salvation. Help us to always believe in Him and His authority. Filled with Your Spirit, may we bring our lives to Him, so with His mercy and healing, we can be made whole and be sent forth to share your love with the world. We pray this through Christ our LORD. Amen
Marylynn Herchline