A reading for the gospel according to Matthew 8:5-17
5 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him,
6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
7 He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
8 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.
9 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.”
10 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.
11 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,
12 but the children of the Kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
13 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.
14 Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.
15 He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him.
16 When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick,
17 to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet.
Points of Reflection:
1. Jesus is a compassionate healer.
The gospels are full of instances that Jesus healed the sick and gave comfort to those who were suffering. Those who approached Him for healing acknowledged that the power of God was at work in Him. He can also do the same today. Divine healing is available to those who seek it. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
2. Faith is important for a miracle to happen.
Our reading says that Jesus marveled at the faith of the centurion and granted him his petition. In other gospel passages, Jesus proclaimed that “your faith has healed you.” Indeed, faith is a basic ingredient for our prayers to be answered.
“When you pray, you must believe and not doubt”. (James 1:6)
3. We are unworthy because of our sinfulness but Christ redeemed us.
We must always be reminded that we “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). In the gospel, the centurion, being a Roman soldier, realized his unworthiness but nevertheless he humbled himself and believed in Jesus.
4. Let us take care of the people around us most especially those under our care.
We can learn a lesson on leadership from the centurion. He cared so much for his servant who was sick. He found time to look for a solution to the problem of someone under his care. Nowadays, how many employers do the same? How many of us show mercy to our household helpers? This is something we all must ponder.
Like what happened to the centurion, if we have faith, humility, and concern for others, we can expect miracle to happen in our life.
Have a blessed day!
