We
are at the beginning of the liturgical year, and we have begun the season of
advent where we are preparing ourselves for the nativity of our Lord Jesus
Christ. As we start this season, today the first reading from prophet Isaiah is
full of hope and saint Luke the evangelist presents to us a centurion whose
character have to be pondered. See the words of the Centurion “I am not worthy
….” We utter these words every time we
participate in the Eucharist. The question remains between you and me; do we
really mean it? If yes thanks be to God.
Friends,
let us remind ourselves who is a centurion. The centurion is not an ordinary soldier, but he is an
officer of the imperial army. He is a man with
power and status at the same
time he was very concerned of his servant that he went to Jesus with faith and
asked for his servant healing. Considering his stature, the centurion could have
simply sent some of his subordinates to Jesus. But he went personally to Jesus.
Imagine a man of this status begging a favour from Jesus and declares himself
unworthy even to welcome Jesus in his house. What kind of faith did this man
had on Jesus that even Jesus was amazed. Probably, what touched Jesus was not
only this faith of the man but also his love for his servant. This is the
mission which Jesus wants us to continue with, that is, to cut through all the
barriers of rank and race through love and faith.
What
can be said here is that the centurion had a profound awareness of his
unworthiness. My dear brothers at times we pray as if we merit God’s favour but
before reaching this stage, like the centurion, we need to recognize our
unworthiness, approaching Jesus with faith and humility without forgetting that
love to one another is a command (Jn 13:34). As we continue to prepare for
Christ’s coming during the Advent season, let us make these words of the
centurion our own. Let this man become our inspiration and our
modal of prayer because the world is experiencing difficulties in matters of
faith and love to each other.
III Year Theology
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