Lord, I am not worthy to have you under my roof

Lam. 2:2.10-14.18-19, Mt. 8:5-17. Today's first reading and Responsorial Psalms aptly describe the tone and content of the book of Lamentation. The book is a series of laments that rise up from the people of Israel as they try to come to terms with the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and their land and the resulting experience of exile in Babylon. That statistic may be saying something about the human condition; it may also suggest that we tend to approach God more in times of need than in times of plenty. We see evidence of that in today's Gospel where a Gentile approaches Jesus in his time of need, not a member of the people of Israel but a Roman Centurion, a pagan. He comes before Jesus with a cry of lament: “My servant is lying at home paralysed, and in great pain.” He did not make an explicit request of Jesus, but his lament before Jesus has an implicit request, “help my servant; help me.” Every lament is, at its core, a cry for help.

This particular pagan displayed extraordinary sensitivity and tremendous faith in Jesus He presumed Jesus, a Jew would be hesitant to enter the house of a pagan and he believed that Jesus could heal his servant at a distance with His word. His initial lament found expression in a wonderful prayer of petition adopted in our Liturgy: “I am not worthy?” Today, let us take a moment to make this version of the Centurion’s prayer our own, trusting, as he did, that this is a prayer that Jesus will indeed answer. The message of Jesus, the new law of God proclaimed is a response to the deepest desires of the human heart. The sincere and honest pagans like the Centurion in Jesus, the response to their yearning and they accepted it. The message of Jesus is a deep experience of God which responds to what the human heart desires. It is this experience of God that people look for in us, we are called to live and radiate this way of God to others and to seekers of God.

May the Lord be our comfort in sorrow and show us His mercy as we place all our hope in Him! Amen!! Keep safe and happy weekend!!!