Matthew 8:5-13, THE MASS PDF Link
This has to be my favorite parts of mass! I mean, of course right? We are about to receive our Lord and savior and be apart of heaven touching earth! How are we supposed to receive him? Should I run up excitedly to receive Jesus in the Eucharist? Well no, besides the fact the people might think I’m a little crazy, I want to be in a state where I know who it is I am receiving and what that means.
We should be in prayerful state and here's one way that has helped me receive our Lord in a prayerful state. When we say, “Lord I am unworthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed”, we are actually repeating the words of a centurion in the bible. If you go to Matthew 8:5-13, you can read what I am going to give a synapse of.
The centurion was asking that the Lord heal his servant. A centurion is a Roman officer, a gentile, in charge of one hundred foot soldiers. This guy had status and merited respect and was generally hated by the Jews because the Romans occupied their land. This centurion came with humility to Jesus, who was a Jew, and started to tell him with urgency about his servant who was ill. Jesus immediately volunteers to come and heal his servant. The centurion responds with,
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.”,
Those are familiar words to us. He continues.
“For I am a man 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.”
This shows great faith! He is saying to Jesus, I am not worthy for you to come to my house but merely say the words and my servant will be healed! He is recognizing Jesus’ authority. Jesus also marvels at his faith and uses this opportunity to teach the sons of Israel, the chosen ones, a lesson. He says,
“Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness…”
By this, Jesus is saying that the gentiles also are welcome to the banquet feast in heaven and not just the Israelites. This is Jesus welcoming us to the banquet feast along with the Sons of Israel.
At mass, we are participating in the great banquet feast here on earth! By our faith in Jesus and his endless mercy for us, we are welcome to come and receive our Lord! This is humbling that our Lord will allow us to eat at the same table as himself and heal us of our sins to be worthy to come to him.
The next time we are at mass, recognize the words you are saying and the faith associated with it. This is our King and he is inviting us to dine with him.
How is God speaking to you in this post or today's reading? Enter a comment below or click HERE if you are reading from your phone. (Commenting is optional, but always grace-filled.) Thank you for letting us into your life and for being a part of ours!
