Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Sain Luke 7, 1-10
After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, ‘He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.’ And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, ‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”, and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this”, and the slave does it.’ When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’ When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
A humble servant can heal
1) The Centurion. At the beginning of the gospel, we see that he does not even dare to go to Jesus because he is not a Jew. He is someone who has power, but to get to Jesus he does not use his power. How interesting this is! There is a lot you and I have to learn from this. Through arrogance and blaming others we gain nothing; it is only through humility that we get answers in life. How many times have we wanted to feel appreciated for what we have done to get privileges or attention? This centurion takes another path, and that is the moment he gets an answer from God. Do you like to highlight who you are or what you do before others to get your way?
2) Jesus goes. He knows that they need him. Jesus does not make excuses and He does not complain about being tired. He knows someone needs him and He goes. He is practical and effective, not bureaucratic, and he does not say “STOP! Leave your requests with my secretary John or Peter” or “He is a centurion, he belongs to zone 8, let him ask the person in charge of that area for help.” When there is a need, Jesus is there. When there is a need, there is one answer, one solution. This is a lesson for you and me. How many times have we turned away when someone has needed us? Let us not be lazy or bureaucratic when faced with someone in need. Let us help when someone needs us because they may be struggling to live.
3) Faith. It is faith that helps, heals, encourages, and gives us strength. It is faith that leads us to amazing greatness. Faith makes it possible to help those we do not even know. It is faith that allows us to overcome our weakness and live freely. Faith allows us to see things our eyes wouldn’t be able to see as “what is essential is invisible to the eyes.”
Remember, Heaven is our goal. God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
