Word to the Wise
Saturday, June 30, 2012 - Saturday in the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
[Lam 2:2, 10-14, 18-19 and Matt 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....
These words were spoken by a presumedly pagan Roman centurion! We say them just before leaving our pews to receive communion! The words were anything but routine to the centurion. They may be just part of the ceremony to us! Jesus was amazed at the faith of the centurion in comparison to those who supposedly had faith in God! Would he be amazed at ours? Or are we waiting till we're as desperate as the centurion before we truly express our real faith, and not just say routine words?
The recent new translation of the Roman Missal has meant that we follow the words of the centurion literally, with the exception that "my soul" replaces "my servant!" The context is vastly different, of course, which means that the desperation of the centurion is lost. What are we expecting from Jesus when we receive communion? The centurion knew the meaning of a command and he put his faith in Jesus' word! Can we do the same? The faith of "outsiders" often has a lot to teach us about our own. AMEN