Gospel Thought for Today
29th November: Monday of the First Week of Advent
Gospel: Matthew 8:5-11
When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection:
“Lord…only say the word…”
St Hildegard of Bingen once said “[A]s the power and honour of a human being are known by his official words, so the holiness and goodness of the Father shines through the supreme Word…” In today’s Gospel, we come across two characters whose words show who they really are. The first character is the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his sick servant. What is amazing about the centurion were his humility and faith in the second character: Jesus. True, he was a man who commands respect from his soldiers and slaves. However, he acknowledged his unworthiness before the Lord: “only say the word”. Going back to St Hildegard’s quote, it is as though the centurion was saying, “My power and honour are nothing to Your holiness and goodness, Lord.” Jesus, the Eternal Word, comes to show us the Father’s holiness and goodness. With a humble heart like that of the centurion, let us seek and welcome Him that we may be healed of whatever prevents us from following Him.
- How easy (or difficult) is it for you to believe in Jesus’ words?
- What keeps you from holding on to Jesus’ words?
- How can your words show Jesus’ holiness and goodness to those who are under the weather?
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. Inspired by Your Word may we become agents of Your healing to all we meet. Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus, come!
