| Gospel | Matthew 8:5-17 |
When Jesus went into Capernaum a centurion came up and pleaded with him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘my servant is lying at home paralysed, and in great pain.’ ‘I will come myself and cure him’ said Jesus. The centurion replied, ‘Sir, I am not worthy to have you under my roof; just give the word and my servant will be cured. For I am under authority myself, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man: Go, and he goes; to another: Come here, and he comes; to my servant: Do this, and he does it.’ When Jesus heard this he was astonished and said to those following him, ‘I tell you solemnly, nowhere in Israel have I found faith like this. And I tell you that many will come from east and west to take their places with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven; but the subjects of the kingdom will be turned out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.’ And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go back, then; you have believed, so let this be done for you.’ And the servant was cured at that moment.
And going into Peter’s house Jesus found Peter’s mother-in-law in bed with fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.
That evening they brought him many who were possessed by devils. He cast out the spirits with a word and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah:
He took our sicknesses away and carried our diseases for us.
The Gospel of the Lord
The Mass intention is for
Reflection
The Gospels tell us that Jesus spent a lot of his time healing the sick. Yet, he was much more than a very successful and sought after healer, for his healing is through compassion and solidarity: ‘he took our infirmities and bore our diseases’. This is best seen on Calvary, but he lived it out throughout his life.
Jesus says some very surprising words of the Roman centurion, ‘In no one in Israel have I found such faith’. He praises the unique faith of a pagan. We often ask ourselves what faith really is, and we may sometimes think that our faith is practically non-existent. And what of the faith of those who belong to other religions or who claim they are unbelievers or atheists? I remember that Jesus said that it is enough if my faith is as big as mustard seed, and thank God for this great gift.
God Bless you all Deacon Martyn