Today we hear the story of the centurion soldier who comes to Jesus to heal his servant who is paralyzed. In the dialogue with Jesus, the centurion told Jesus to just give the Word and he will be healed because the centurion felt he wasn’t worthy to have Jesus come to his home.
Jesus then goes on to say many will come from the east and the west but many who believed just by their ancestry or birth will be cast into the outer darkness.
There is a tremendous meaning to this lesson which is a commentary on a modern Christian, more so someone who nominally calls themselves a Christian but who doesn’t give of themselves to the Father. They have lost the real essence of the name Christian, which embodies love, compassion, and putting all our trust in Christ, denying ourselves and taking up our own cross, journeying thru life working for not only our own salvation but of all the people of God.
St. John Chrysostom said that because the centurion made himself unworthy even to receive Christ in his home, he became worthy both of the kingdom and of attaining those good things which Abraham enjoyed. Therefore, Christ not only healed the centurion’s servant but the centurion’s soul.
The scriptures everywhere testify to the power of God’ Word. The centurion acknowledged that Christ would simply give the Word and his servant would be healed. Whether or not he related it to his own individual power as a commander over his troops, he truly believed that Jesus had the power to heal simply by His Word.
This is what is so important about this Gospel Reading: Many people today, if asked what their religion was, would often respond Christian, doing so simply because their parents or family were Christians but do not have the necessary faith which we as Christians should possess.
Christian is not a term, it is rather a life with many obligations to follow and live according to the examples Christ gave us in the Scriptures. This is what is so important about this lesson from St. Matthew for it shows us what God’s Word does for us and all creation.
