Word to the Wise
Saturday, July 1, 2017 - Saturday in the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 18:1-15 and Matt 8:5-17]SATURDAY, JULY 1, 2017 SATURDAY IN THE TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Genesis 18:1-15 and Matthew 8:5-17] "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. " [Matthew] These words from today's gospel scripture in the Gospel According to Matthew should be familiar to us. We repeat them just before receiving the Eucharist either at Mass or at a Communion Service. Their familiarity and separation from the bigger picture of the gospel can diminish their significance. To begin with, there is a significant difference between this healing and the one of the leper in yesterday's gospel. Jesus does not touch the sick servant. He doesn't even go to the centurion's home. His words are sufficient: "You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you." Jesus says these words after contrasting the faith of the centurion with the faith of Israel. There is no indication that the centurion was anything other than a Roman soldier who would ostensibly be a pagan! This is an indicator to us of a background theme in Matthew that the kingdom Jesus preaches is open to anyone who believes in him. At the end of today's gospel, Jesus also heals Peter's mother-in-law, and continues to heal anyone brought to him at Peter's house. The narrator/evangelist tells us that this is in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah about the "suffering servant": "He too away our infirmities and bore our diseases." This fulfillment theme was announced to us in the "infancy narrative" at the beginning of this gospel. In short, every action of Jesus is aimed at showing the power of the kingdom of God, which can heal without touching and fulfills all the law and prophets. Those words we say so often at communion time carry a lot more weight than we realize! AMEN