November 29/First Monday of Advent
Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. ~ Matt 8.8
The Roman centurion, for all his authority and accomplishment, was not part of the community of Jesus’s followers or of the larger Jewish community in which Jesus lived and moved. He was an outsider — even if by virtue of his privilege. Many of his ilk, officers in the Roman army and members of the occupying establishment, looked with contempt or suspicion on this uncredentialed teacher, Jesus, who seemed to have a mysterious, dangerous gift for healing and a penchant for delivering counter-cultural messages. In fact, this centurion was like many professionally successful, highly-accomplished people we may know who do not consider going to church worth their time, who look with disdain on the teachings and message of Christ (particularly when they are mediated by the all-too-human institution of the church!). But in fact, the centurion was not like his haughty colleagues: he had the gift of humility. Superior by every external measure, he knew that he was not spiritually worthy to stand before Jesus, let alone have him enter his dwelling. Yet he was moved by concern for his servant to do whatever he could to procure Jesus’s healing touch for his servant. And so despite the gulf between powerful soldier and itinerant preacher, the Roman centurion humbled himself to ask for Jesus’s help. It is an existential hazard for us today to believe that Christ has nothing to offer that we can’t supply ourselves – if we can just find the right treatment, the right meditative practice, the right doctor, the right job. But the centurion shows us that the road to true wholeness goes through Christ, and that it is available to all of us who are willing to step off our high horses, get down on our knees, and ask for his love and mercy.
Lord, Although I am not worthy, come into my heart and heal what is broken in my life. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112921.cfm
To hear the Benedictines of Mary sing “O Lord, I am not Worthy,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=revQnSE75lo
