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,
but the children of the Kingdom
will be driven out into the outer darkness,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
And Jesus said to the centurion,
“You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.”
And at that very hour his servant was healed. (Mt 5:8-13)
Do those words sound familiar? They should.
Each time we go to Mass, right before receiving the Eucharist, we say 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.
Too many people walk around thinking that they are worthy. There is no humility in them at all. They think that everything that comes their way does so because of them.
They do not make any attempt to thank the Lord for their blessings because they think that they deserve their blessings or that they have achieved their blessings all on their own.
They would never think of asking the Lord for anything. Instead, they often demand things of the Lord.
The centurion, on the other hand, was quite humble.
He knew that he was not worthy. He knew that he had no right to demand anything of Jesus. However, his faith was so strong that He knew Jesus could do whatever He wanted to do.
He went to the Lord with the statement that his servant was suffering. Jesus offered to go with him to his home. The centurion would have none of that. He had faith in Jesus’ word. If Jesus spoke a word, the centurion knew that it would be fulfilled.
Jesus admitted amazement and granted his request.
How much faith do we have?
FAITH ACTION: Have you been asking for something from the Lord but, at the same time, telling yourself that it will probably never come about? Instead, have the faith of the centurion. Go to the Lord in prayer this day. Let Him know that you trust Him. See what happens.