“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” – Matthew 8:7
S.O.S
I
must admit I have the S.O.S. syndrome. The “Same Old Sins” syndrome.
Many times, I would catch myself going to confession bearing not new
sins, but old, repeated ones. And each time, I would feel guilty because
I know I should have stopped myself from doing them, but I had failed
again. I ask myself, “Should I even dare say sorry to God after all
these? Is my sorry sincere? Am I sure that I won’t do it anymore?”
But I know that these are all insults to God’s immense love for me. Who
am I to doubt God’s mercy and forgiveness? Once again, I am reassured
that my sins are a tiny speck compared to the healing and transforming
love of God! It is by this reassurance that I humbly ask for God’s
pardon through confession.
I know that I will never be worthy of God’s love. But the beauty of His
love is that He makes you worthy. He forgives you so that you forgive
yourself. He transforms your Same Old Sins because He is the Savior of
Souls. The centurion knew that, too. He was not worthy of God’s healing.
But because of his faith, Jesus entered his life and changed him
forever! Migs Ramirez
1ST READING
Advent
is a time to prepare ourselves to welcome the coming of the Christ
Child in our midst. It is a time to reflect on a year gone by and ask
ourselves whether we have fulfilled our New Year’s resolutions or not.
As we prepare for Christmas, let us prepare our hearts to recommit
ourselves to following Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Let us never forget
His humility in coming among us as a child.
Isaiah 4:2-6
2 On
that day, the branch of the Lord will be luster and glory, and the
fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor for the survivors of
Israel. 3 He who remains in Zion and he who is left in Jerusalem will be called holy: every one marked down for life in Jerusalem. 4 When the Lord washes away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purges Jerusalem’s blood from her midst with a blast of searing judgment, 5 then will the Lord create, over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her place of assembly, a smoking cloud by day and a light of flaming fire by night. 6 For
over all, his glory will be shelter and protection shade from the
parching heat of day, refuge and cover from storm and rain.
P S A L M
Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
1 I rejoiced because they said to me, “We will go up to the house of the Lord.” 2 And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem. (R) 3 Jerusalem, built as a city with compact unity. 4 To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord. (R) According to the decree for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. 5 In it are set up judgment seats, seats for the house of David. (R) 6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May those who love you prosper! 7 May peace be within your walls, prosperity in your buildings. (R) 8 Because of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you!” 9 Because of the house of the Lord, our God, I will pray for your good. (R)
GOSPEL
The
centurion knows the power of the word of a person in authority. He is a
member of the police or army that is led by a person — he believes he
is talking to the Son of God — how much more powerful will be His word
or command! This is an example of the type of faith we should seek to
develop in our lives — a faith that trusts in the transformative power
of the Word of God.
Matthew 8:5-11
5 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” 7 He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8 The
centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under
my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. 9 For
I too am a man 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.” 10 When
Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen,
I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I
say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of
heaven.”
REFLECTION
“Coming Under My Roof”
Again,
we have a phrase that features prominently in the new translation of
the Mass. The centurion refers to Jesus coming to visit his house in
terms of “coming under his roof.” This phrase is an interesting one as
the focal point of the text here is all about authority — by whom and
how it is exercised. The centurion knows that superiors give orders to
their rank and file members, who are expected to obey the former. His expression of belief in Jesus is in these terms, when he tells Jesus that all he needs to hear is Jesus’ “word” and that will be sufficient for him. He does not need to have Jesus come to his home and to pronounce healing in the presence of his sick child.
Jesus commends his faith, saying that it is deeper than any other he
has found in Israel. This is quite a compliment. The other side of the
title phrase is that it can also be a reference to authority in itself.
That is, we sometimes refer to people who come under our authority as
“under our roof.” In this sense, the roof is a symbol of superior
authority and perhaps what the centurion was also implying was that he
recognized that the authority of Jesus was far greater than his and,
thus, it was highly unnecessary and even inappropriate for Jesus to
bother Himself with a journey to his house.
Either way, the faith and belief of the centurion in the authority of
Jesus to heal and command is evident. It is this that we should focus on
when considering this event in Jesus’ life from the standpoint of
discipleship. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? It means
“coming under the roof” of His authority. It means believing in His Word
once it is spoken. It means trusting that the mix of love and authority
with which Jesus ministers is not just true for how He relates to us,
but is also the model for how we should relate to others. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL
"Holy Spirit, help
me to entrust my life to the authority of Jesus’ Word and never allow me
to lose hope in it. May I always experience His Word as a word of love."
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