Monday, XXIV Week of Ordinary Time
(Luke 7)
Have you ever wished you could meet Jesus? Perhaps we hear ourselves saying, “If I only could meet him face to face, then I would not have any doubt.” Certainly having a personal encounter with Jesus would lift our spirits. In a fantasy entitled A Day with a Perfect Stranger a woman takes a seat on an airplane between two men one of whom is Jesus. The companion by the window chides her for not supporting her husband’s newly found faith. The man in the aisle seat leaves the armrest for the woman to use. Which of the two men do you suppose is Jesus?
In the gospel passage the centurion remarkably never meets the Lord. He sends Jewish elders to make his request for the healing of his servant. It is not that he considers himself more important than Jesus. As a matter of fact, his reasoning is quite the opposite. He does not want to bother Jesus with having to make the necessary courtesies to greet a foreign official. Yet the centurion believes in Jesus’ saving power, even from a distance. Jesus, of course, grants the centurion’s request as faith assures.
We may not have the personal encounter with Jesus that our hearts desire. But we do have his blessing as surely as the centurion in the gospel. In this Mass we listen to his words encouraging us to trust in him. We also touch him and hold him inside ourselves in the reception of the Eucharist. Jesus does more than let us use an armrest. He gives himself for us to lean on.
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