Gospel LK 7:1-10
When Jesus had finished all his words to the people,
he entered Capernaum.
A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die,
and he was valuable to him.
When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him,
asking him to come and save the life of his slave.
They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying,
“He deserves to have you do this for him,
for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.”
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.
Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you;
but say the word and let my servant be healed.
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.”
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.”
When the messengers returned to the house,
they found the slave in good health.
Reflection:
There is much to be learned from this centurion who was concerned about his sick slave
He was an important Roman solider who understood authority.
As a “centurion,” he would have had 100 men under his immediate military command.
However, as a member of the Roman army that occupied Israel, he was well thought of by the Jews.
He clearly took the time to understand the Jewish religion. The centurion was considerate; he did not put Jesus, a Jew, in the awkward position of dealing directly with a Gentile.
“When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave.”
They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying,
“He deserves to have you do this for him,
for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.”
Although the Jews considered the centurion to be deserving of Jesus’ help, the centurion saw himself as being unworthy.
While Jesus and the Jewish leaders were on the way to the centurion’s house he sent friends to tell him,
“Lord, do not trouble yourself,
for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.”
At My Brother’s Keeper, we go into the homes “under the roof,” of people every day, both those to whom we deliver and those who donate furniture.
We see the neatness and messiness of their homes and, at times, we even see the messiness of their lives. We enter under their roof, not to judge but to serve and to bring them the love and hope of Jesus Christ.
As we take our own worries and cares to Jesus, He also sees all there is to see in our life: our goodness along with our faults and failures.
When, like the centurion, we approach Jesus in humility, He will surely heal us as He healed the servant of the humble Roman soldier.
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.” C. S. Lewis