November 28/First Monday of Advent
“Lord, . . . only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.” ~ Matt 8.8
Being faithful, being accountable, being committed – these modes of being seem to have fallen out of fashion in large segments of our troubled world. The idea that there is a power greater than we are, a truth that we should answer to, a beauty that we should honor, well, lots of folks in our self-absorbed, self-directed, plain old selfish culture dismiss these notions as irrelevant, not even worthy of consideration. The Roman centurion in today’s Gospel might easily have been such a person. He held a place of privilege as a power broker in an occupied region; he was an accomplished soldier who maneuvered skillfully in the military hierarchy in which he was both commander and commanded. But he also seems to have been graced with an extraordinary faith in Jesus’s power, and despite his position of privilege, could see Christ clearly for what he was: not an uncredentialed Jewish itinerant with mysterious, dangerous gifts, but a powerful healer who could bestow wholeness on a sick man simply through his word. Many of us today, swimming in a culture of autonomy and individualism, probably don’t put much faith in Christ’s ability to fix what is wrong in our lives. He has nothing to offer, we think, that we can’t supply ourselves. It’s just a matter of taking matters into our own hands and finding the right treatment, the right partner, the right job. But the centurion shows us that the road to true wholeness in our lives goes through Christ, and that it is available to all of us who are willing to dismount from our high horse, get down on our knees, and ask for his love and mercy.
O Word made flesh, Although I am not worthy, come into my heart and heal what is broken in my life. Amen.
To hear the Ensemble Plus Ultra perform “Domine, non sum dignus,” by Tomás Luis de Victoria, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C70yCDGIuWE
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112822.cfm
