December 4, 2023 Monday of the First Week of Advent
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.” In today's Gospel, a Roman centurion approaches Jesus and tells him that his servant is lying at home paralyzed and suffering terribly. He admits that he is not worthy to have Jesus enter his home, but he believes that if Jesus simply says the word, his servant will be healed. To an outsider, this request may seem impossible, as the centurion is asking for a remote healing with just a word. However, the centurion has faith and trusts that Jesus can perform this miracle. Søren Kierkegaard once defined faith as "a passion for the impossible." This does not mean that God is opposed to reason or that he wants us to be unrealistic. Rather, he wants us to use our powers of imagination and analysis while also having faith in what reason cannot see. The centurion's faith was so strong that Jesus praised him, saying, "I have not found such faith in anyone in Israel."
(1) Christopher McQuade on X: "December 4, 2023 Monday of the First Week of Advent 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…" / X (twitter.com)
