Word to the Wise
Saturday, June 30, 2018 - Saturday in the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
[Lam 2:2, 10-14, 18-19 and Matt 8:5-17]SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 2018. SATURDAY IN THE TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19 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 are familiar words! We speak them just before we move out of the pew to join the line going up to receive communion. In our familiar context, it is more a personal thing, and its familiarity can make it a formula rather than a profession of faith. In the original context, it has considerably greater power. The Centurion was a Roman officer and a pagan. However, his concern for his servant showed that he had a heart and was open to the possibility that Jesus could help. HIs model for that kind of help was military and he knew what an order meant. Jesus’ word was sufficient for him. Two considerations arise from the story. The first is the contrast between the faith of the pagan and the skepticism of some of Jesus’ Jewish adversaries. Jesus exclaims: “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith!” Indeed, faith is where one finds it, and the Centurion was an unlikely witness. Do we know of similar unlikely witnesses? The second consideration is that Jesus “healed at a distance.” He didn’t have to go to the Centurion’s house and treat the servant. His word was sufficient. The power of Jesus’ word is something that we can also have a tendency to “domesticate” and lose the significance of the prayer we say before communion. Catholic tradition includes what is known as “communion of desire” for those who want to go to receive communion but are impeded for some reason. That brief prayer can be all that is necessary for them. That unlikely witness, the Roman Centurion, has given us a great lesson in faith. AMEN
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