Saturday 30th June, 2012
First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19. Lord, forget not the life of your poor ones—Ps 73(74):1-7, 20-21. Matthew 8:5-17.

  
Meditation: mp3 | podcast
Readings: Text | mp3 | podcast

‘I am not worthy …’

In today’s gospel, we hear the words that inspired the prayer of preparation to receive Communion: ‘Sir, I am not worthy to have you under my roof; just give the word and my servant will be cured.’ Jesus cured the servant at the request of the centurion. ‘You have believed’, Jesus said to the centurion, ‘so let this be done for you.’

Jesus cured the servant, not because of the servant’s faith, but because of the centurion’s faith. Being a person of authority himself, the centurion recognised the same qualities in Jesus. Is our relationship with Jesus such that we can recognise ourselves in him? Do we recognise our own spark of divinity within ourselves? We are made in God’s image and likeness. How powerful. How humbling.

What marvellous potential we have been given.