Jesus The Healer

 

 Matthew 8:5-17

The Faith of a Roman Officer

⁵ When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, ⁶ “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”

⁷ Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”

⁸ But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! ¹¹ And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. ¹² But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.

Jesus Heals Many People

¹⁴ When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Peter’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. ¹⁵ But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her. Then she got up and prepared a meal for him.

¹⁶ That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick. ¹⁷ This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said,

“He took our sicknesses
    and removed our diseases.”

Each time we attend Mass and receive Holy Communion, we repeat the words of this humble and devout centurion. Little did he know that his simple and humble words, based on his experience as a Roman officer, would still be in use 20 centuries later. Jesus was so impressed that he used the centurion as an example of what a man of faith is and granted his request. Yes, Jesus is a healer, and is there for all of us, as Isaiah pointed out: "He took our sicknesses/ and removed our diseases."  We all bear some physical burden, some ache or pain we would like to eliminate, but do we have the same faith as this centurion? We don't even know his name, but he stands as a model of simple, direct faith, which we all need. May he help us find it.

Bro. Rene

Dear God, when I reflect on the centurion's faith, I see the weakness in mine.  May his example and prayers deepen my faith.  Amen.