Preparing in Faith and Humility!

Monday, December 4, 2023

Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 8:5-11

In today’s Gospel, we reflect on the centurion’s faith and humility.

The Gospel on the centurion’s faith is insightful for two reasons.

He pleads for a servant. The attitude of the centurion is noble. He seems to care for his servants, though the order of the day did not require such a gesture from a master who owned slaves. When he pleads with Jesus on his servant’s behalf, saying that he is ‘lying paralyzed, suffering dreadfully,’ it points to the compassionate heart of the Roman official. The centurion’s compassionate heart is what we are called to imitate. He was compassionate because he chose to be so, even though his cruelty toward his servants would have been justified. Being kind and compassionate refers to an inner disposition manifested in action. 

He behaves like a servant. In appealing to Jesus on behalf of his ailing servant, the centurion, the one in authority, behaves like a servant himself. Having tasted authority and power in his own way, he knows what it is to obey the one who has real authority. In other words, from his own limited authority, he understands the breadth of Jesus’ unlimited authority. That makes the centurion unique and great. In his servant-mindedness, all that he looks for from Jesus is his ‘word,’ just as a slave would await the word of his master. It is because of such faith expressed in profound humility that Jesus is amazed. It is no wonder that every Catholic utters the centurion’s formula before welcoming the Eucharistic Lord into our hearts. 

Let the centurion’s faith and humility enable our preparation to worthily welcome the Lord!

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar