Faith Like a Centurion

​STEP #1: LECTIO / READ

Matthew 8: 5-17

​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,
but the children of the Kingdom
will be driven out into the outer darkness,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
And Jesus said to the centurion,
“You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.”
And at that very hour his servant was healed.

Jesus entered the house of Peter,
and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.
He touched her hand, the fever left her,
and she rose and waited on him. 

When it was evening, they brought him many
who were possessed by demons,
and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick,
to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:

He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.

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​STEP #2: MEDITATIO / MEDITATE

​As I read this Gospel passage the first thing that popped in my head was “This is where that prayer came from!” The prayer I’m talking about is the one we say right before we begin Communion: “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” Many common prayers we have in the Church (Mass, Hail Mary, Our Father, etc.) are almost word-for-word from scripture, so I always love being able to make those connections.

But as I sat with this passage more, the words and faith of the centurion really stuck me. First off, a centurion was a Roman officer, which is why he mentions he has soldiers subject to him. Being Roman (not Jewish) meant he probably believed in many gods and goddesses, so coming to Jesus with such confidence and faith that Jesus would heal his servant was a big deal.

The most impactful aspect of this passage for me is the reference we make in mass: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” At this point, Jesus had been healing several people, but he usually laid his hands on them or touched them in some way. This man was so confident in what Jesus could do that he knew as long as Jesus said the words his servant would be healed; Jesus didn’t have to be physically present to do the healing.

There are many times I ask for God to do something, but how confident am I that He will actually do it? More often than not I find myself in prayer only half-heatedly asking God what is on my heart. There are times when what I really want is not a part of God’s plan for me, but when I pray I need to be confident that God hears me and wants to answer my prayers.

I need to have faith like this centurion. He didn’t need Jesus to physically touch or be with his servant to know Jesus would heal him. Since Jesus is no longer physically walking on earth, it can be hard to feel His comfort and healing hand at work in our lives. But we need to remember that we are the hands and feet of Christ. Those times when we are down and someone walks up at the right time, that’s Jesus being there to comfort us.

We may not hear of as many miracles like the ones in the Gospel today, but Jesus can still work miracles. All we need is to go to prayer with confidence that God will hear us and have faith that He will answer our prayers. The answer may not be what we initially expected, but God always answers.

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​STEP #3: ORATIO / PRAY

“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed."

How confident am I that Jesus will hear and answer my prayers?

How do I need Jesus to heal me?

When I need help, who is the first person I turn to?​

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​STEP #4: CONTEMPLATIO / CONTEMPLATE

"Only say the word and my servant will be healed."

“You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.”

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FOR THE REST OF YOUR DAY...

​Be confident that God hears your prayers and have faith like the centurion that He will answer your prayers.

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​SMARTPHONE LOCK SCREEN

Today's prayer was prepared by Kayla Essner.