Lord I Am Not Worthy...

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."

If you wanted to describe the passage from Matthew in one word, I would say that the word you could use would be "remarkable."  Here we have an official of the Roman Army approaching a Hebrew street preacher to ask for help in curing his servant from some sort of paralysis.  We can assume that the Centurion had already exhausted remedies suggested by Roman medical authorities who were very often nothing more than slaves with a little bit of knowledge on how to stop bleeding and not much more than that. Unsatisfied that his servant did not attain any relief from the Roman medical community, he decided to reach out to the locals who seem to have better medical care than the occupiers of the country.  The Jewish people were healthier than most people of the era and had such modern things as toothbrushes and toothpaste made out of grit and a bit of honey.  Even so, the Centurion did not approach a medical professional but rather Jesus.  This is interesting because a Centurion was an important official in the Roman army.  He was generally a professional soldier with several tours of duty under his belt. At various times in history the number of soldiers he was in charge of ranged from thirty to one-hundred.  At this time, the Centurion in the Roman Army was in charge of one-hundred Legionnaires.  The Centurion reported to the Tribune and was in charge of and infamous for brutal disciplines meated out to those who needed it under his command.  He was expected to be a leader and one that could rally the troops when things were not going Rome's way in battle.  He must always appear resolute and he could count on being executed if he showed any cowardice when engaging the enemy.  Most of those with this rank would retire as Centurions but advancement was possible.  He could be promoted to the emperor's bodyguard and even be promoted to various civil offices including the Roman Senate.   So it was remarkable that this man would seek out a Hebrew to solve a medical problem. It shows that Jesus was known, even to the Romans, who took little notice of the religion of Israel except where it affected the power of the emperor. 

Jesus for His part, takes pity on the sick person, even though the servant was obviously not a Jew and was ready to set off with the Centurion to effect a cure.  The Centurion would have none of it.  He told Jesus that he was not worthy to expect Jesus to come under his roof.  He explained that as a person with authority he knew how to get things done.  He would tell one soldier to go and he would go and another to come here and that soldier would come running to see what was needed.   He knew enough about Jesus to know that Jesus was a man with authority and if he commanded the sickness to be gone, it would be gone.  Jesus was struck by this pagan's faith in the authority of the Christ.  He cured the servant, the Centurion went about his business and Jesus remarked that faith such as what was displayed by the Roman soldier could not be found in all of Israel and Jesus prophesied that non-Jews coming from the East and the West will sit and dine with Abraham, Isaac, and  Jacob and that salvation would be for all that could accept it, not just the Jews. 

We say the words of the Centurion every time we go to mass.  We are called to express our confidence in the ability of Jesus to do what Jesus said He would do.  Then we take the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ inside of us.  No closer union is possible for us outside of being in heaven.  How many of us walk up to communion and receive it without really realizing what it is we are receiving?  Do we understand that Christ is inside of us as He is with all of the other people that have received?  Do we receive and then return to our place and take out the bulletin and catch up on parish news or do we open our minds and souls and speak to the God who is within us and who has given us this great gift?  Do we thank Him for all of the good things He has given to us in our life or do we look at our wristwatch and wonder if we will have eggs or pancakes when we go to breakfast after mass?  The Centurion was sure that Jesus could command nature and had the power to cure and he was a pagan.  We, on the other hand, have been brought up with this gift from a God who loves us and I fear some of us do not take it as seriously as we ought.  Next time you go to communion, communicate with Jesus, He IS present within you in a special way. Don't let Him come and go unrecognized.  

Please pray for the poor souls in Purgatory. They are souls full of joy and yet they suffer for they long to see God.  Pray for them and they will remember you in your time of need.  Remember, as they are, one day you may be.