A reading from the gospel of Luke 7:1-10

1 When Jesus had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum.
2 A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him.
3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave.
4 They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, “He deserves to have you do this for him,
5 for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.”
6 And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.
7 Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed.
8 For I too am a person 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.”
9 When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
10 When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

Reflection: Centurion

Good News: Jesus can heal even at a distance.

Points for reflection:
1. Faith comes from hearing. (Romans 10:17) The Centurion heard about Jesus and he believed in Him.
2. The centurion is kind to his slave, to his neighbors (He built them their synagogue.), and he is kind to the Israelites People as a whole (He respected their religion.)
3. Look at how the elders of the Jews tried to entice Jesus to heed their plea. It is like bribing God to do something because we are good.
4. The faith of the centurion is incomparable with what Jesus has ever seen before. The centurion even believed that Jesus can do miracle at a distance. Take note that previously, Jesus healed the sick at close distance. In many instances in fact, Jesus healed by touching the ill person.
5. Many times Jesus would berate His disciples for having little faith. Here, Jesus was ecstatic because of the great faith of the centurion who is ironically a foreigner, a gentile, and a soldier of the oppressive Romans. Indeed, the first would be the last and the last will be the first (Matthew 20:16).
6. The humility of the centurion is remarkable. He recognized his own unworthiness. Contrast this to how the elders of the Jews approached Jesus in which they strongly urged Him to come.
7. Reflect on how blessed the slave is with a kind, humble and faithful centurion as his employer. Why should the centurion be so kind and thoughtful of him?
8. Jesus is our merciful healer.
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Four Important Lessons from the story of the Centurion:
1. Kindness
2. Humility
3. Having a great faith
4. Be connected to virtuous people