Word to the Wise
Monday, September 18, 2023 - Monday in the 24th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Tim 2:1-8 and Luke 7:1-10]"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." [Luke]
SEPTEMBER 18 ST. JUAN MACIAS, OP
The story of the healing of the centurion's servant has a purpose. The emphasis is not on the healing of the servant, miracle that it is. The emphasis is on faith, and in particular on the faith of a pagan Roman centurion, a Gentile! The evangelist Luke wrote for a community that contained many Gentile converts. The comparison in Jesus' statement about not finding faith like the centurion's in Israel is not casual but deliberate. Interestingly, the centurion asked some Jewish elders to intercede with Jesus on behalf of the servant.
There is a lesson in this gospel that can be quite modern. Like the Jews, we Catholics have a claim to be "the one true Church" of Jesus Christ. This can unfortunately lead to a kind of smugness in regard to the faith of those who are not only Christians of other traditions, but also in regard to those who come from other religious traditions like Islam or Buddhist or Hindu or no religious background at all! One wonders what the Jewish elders were thinking when they approached Jesus on behalf of the centurion, who, himself, had been generous to them.
Recognizing the "rays of faith" that come our way from non-Catholics who come to us because of our own faith can have great consequences. That servant was healed. What kind of healing and welcome do we give to those who come to us seeking hope and healing? AMEN