💖 HOMILY - JULY 1 💖

First Reading - Genesis 18:1-15

Gospel - Matthew 8:5-17

Following the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus laid out the program for his Messianic Mission to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, he headed for Capernaum, healing a leper on the way. Entering the town, he was met by a Centurion who presented the problem of his dying servant in great pain. A man of Faith, this pagan asked for nothing, like Mary being content with simply stating the case and leaving the rest to Jesus, and Jesus responded at once, saying he would come and heal the servant. But the centurion displayed great humility, which underlined his Faith that Jesus was from God, saying, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my servant shall be healed.” It was the Centurion’s citation of the chain of command that governed his own life as the basis of his request, “Just say the word and my servant will be healed,” that so amazed Jesus, for this pagan had more genuine Faith in Him and in God than anybody he had yet met in Israel, the land which called the Lord God their God and worshipped Him in the Temple daily.

Following the dismissal of the Centurion with the assurance that what he believed would be done for him (at that very moment as it turned out), Jesus retreated to the house of Simon Peter, found Simon’s mother-in-law seriously ill with a fever that had put her in bed, and immediately, “touched her hand, and the fever left her.” Here we see that God in His mercy does not require a request to pour out His mercies on us; in other accounts, the apostles had brought Jesus to the woman, thus making silent intercession for her, and the healing followed. In both cases, in was the Faith of the people making intercession of the one in need that opened the door for Jesus to perform the healings. And that explains why, when we pray in Faith for others, even without their knowledge, God can, and sometimes does, respond with a miracle.

The next scene occurred after sundown, when, technically, the Sabbath was finished. All the people who had heard about Jesus brought all their sick and possessed from their homes to Simon Peter’s house and laid them on the ground, begging for healing for their dear ones. Jesus obliged, and, Matthew reports, “…he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick…” adding the telling proof of Jesus’ Messianic identity for those who may have missed the point, “…to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: ‘He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.’”

Dear friends, the Centurion serves as our model of power rightly managed, with respect and obedience, of Faith in God, of love for those who serve us, and of humble appreciation for the greatness of God and His love for and willingness to help those in need, even though they are not part of His Chosen People.

Jesus’ humble readiness to answer with compassion the needs of all who ask, even of pagans, is our model for interactions with everyone we encounter, especially those most in need.

Let us approach the Lord with the Centurion’s humble, loving trust when we receive Holy Communion by really praying, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”