Reflection for December 4, Monday of the First Week of Advent: Matthew 8:5-11

Gospel: Matthew 8:5-11

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. 

For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 

I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.

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Reflection:

How deep is your faith in Jesus? 

Aside from learning about the centurion’s deep faith in God what else can we learn from our gospel today? We learn how to deeply care and be concerned for others no matter who they may be and regardless of their standing in our society. 

The centurion is not an ordinary soldier; he is a ranking officer who commands one hundred soldiers. Even though he holds a high rank, we can also see that he has a caring personality. Hence, he went to Jesus with faith to ask the Lord for the healing of his servant. Considering his stature, the centurion could have simply sent some of his underlings to Jesus, but he went personally to Jesus—his action speaks volumes of his kindness.

How many of us are caring enough for those who are lowly, poor and those neglected by our society? How many of us truly care for our servants? Would we still care for our servant even if they cannot serve us anymore?   

On this Advent season and through this gospel Jesus is inviting our attention to take a closer look on the plight of the less fortunate: the poor, the hungry and those neglected by our society. They’re everywhere and they badly need our help. – Marino J. Dasmarinas