Daily Gospel Reflection

The Power of Practical Faith

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where each day we are exploring the genius of Jesus in the Gospels. Today's reading is from Luke chapter seven, verses one through 10. And it's one of those readings that we've heard 100 times, 1000 times. And so sometimes it's even more important that we sort of focus in, looking for that word, phrase, or idea from these readings that we're very familiar with. After Jesus had ended all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a slave who was dear to him, who was sick, and at the point of death. When he heard of Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his slave. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he built us our synagogue." And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself. For I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore, I did not presume to come to you, but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I am a man set under authority with soldiers under me. And I say to one, go, and he goes, and to another, come, and he comes. And to my slave do this, and he does it."

When Jesus heard this, he marveled at him and turned and said to the multitude that followed him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well." What jumps out at you today? Obviously, there's a very famous line from the mass here. Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant will be healed. We pray that in the Mass over and over our whole lives. I think what jumps out at me is the very practical faith of the centurion. His faith is practical, and his faith is from his own experience, right? And that's true for you and for me. And his faith is if Jesus says, "this person be healed," this person be healed. And it's beautiful. It's practical. It's childlike. And yet it's coming from a man who is in a place of significant secular authority.

And so in a lot of ways, I think that makes it even more beautiful because I think in the midst of secular realities, and certainly in the midst of secular authority, our faith is tested even more so. And so here we have the Centurion just fully believing if Jesus says, "healed," his servant will be healed. What do you need Jesus to say to you? What direction do you need Jesus to give to your life? Do you have faith that he will deliver on your request? Have a great day. And remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.