September 13, 2010
Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the Church
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes…Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 1 Corinthians 11:26, 33
And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed.” Luke 7:6-7
Piety
“Lord, I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word, and I shall be healed.”
Study
Luke portrays Jesus as a man of piety, study and action -- praying, preaching, healing, answering prayers, debating the Pharisees, and exorcising demons. He goes the way and shows the way so we can follow. Jesus singles out his encounter with the centurion as an example of how the Church he is building will stretch beyond the Jews. The centurion exemplified the spirit expressed today in Psalm 40: “To do your will is my delight.”
The attitude he embodies is noted well by Jesus. Even though the Jews faced persecution and hardship at the hands of the belligerent forces from Rome, Jesus listened to the plea from the centurion and makes the Psalm come to life: “May all who seek you exult and be glad in you.” Jesus not only granted his prayer but he commented to those around, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
Value in relationship was a central theme in the Sunday Gospel about the lost sheep, the lost coins and the lost son. Today, we see the centurion go to great lengths to aid the servant who was of such value to him. Rather than just go out and commandeer another to serve him, the centurion seeks healing for the valuable man already in his service.
Action
If Jesus were to come to Fairfax County, would he find such faith in the people filling up the pews of our churches or would he find that faith in the more unlikely places where we might not look? Under superhighway bridges where the homeless sleep? In the parking lots of convenience stores and paint stores where immigrant laborers seek our day jobs tending our lawns and making needed repairs to our homes? In the under-funded AIDS clinics where indigent patients hope to find ways to afford the life-saving drugs prescribed by doctors of those with insurance?
Rather than climbing the ladder of success, Jesus tells us today to “wait for one another” just like he waits for the centurion. We are asked not to leave anyone behind. Just like the centurion seeks help for his servant, the shepherd seeks out the one lost sheep and the widow searches for her lost coin, we are to follow the ways Jesus exhibits and leave behind our human (selfish) ways and focus on being in right relationship with God and each other.
There may be a little centurion in all of us. We are reminded of his humility and obedience at every Mass in the prayers before communion. However, we are no longer asking the Lord to heal our servant but to heal ourselves. Our prayer will be answered in the same way that Jesus answered the prayers of the Roman centurion.
