Monday, September 18, 2023

Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 7:1-10)

Today’s gospel tells of a Roman centurion who recognizes Jesus as a healer.  Jesus fulfills the man’s request that he heal his servant.  The narrative does not say whether the Roman ever became a disciple of Jesus.

The story is reminiscent of that of Simone Weil, a French Jewish philosopher.  Her heart was converted to Jesus after meditating on the gospel and other deeply religious experiences.  Weil died a young woman during World War II.  History does not record her baptism, but she can hardly be counted as other than a follower of Christ.

Jesus calls all people to himself in truth and love.  We are fortunate to have known him through the sacraments and religious education.  Knowing of his divine love manifested on the cross, we should be willing to break social taboos and talk about him to others.

Monday, September 13, 2021

 Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the Church

(I Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 7:1-10)

The eloquent John Chrysostom (John, the golden mouth”) was a social reformer.  As archbishop of Constantinople, he refused to host expensive social gatherings and built hospitals with the money at his disposal.  These measures made him popular with the people but repugnant to the emperor and some church officials.  John died in exile after criticizing the empress for extravagance.

Jesus’ relations with the civil authority in today’s fares much better.  The centurion or head of Roman garrison in Capernaum asks Jesus to heal his house slave.  Jesus is willing to go, but the centurion sends a message that he did not mean to bother Jesus so.  He only asks that Jesus “to say the word,” which probably means offer a prayer for his slave.  In many places in Luke’s gospel the people are “amazed” with Jesus.  In this case, however, Jesus is “amazed” with the faith of this centurion.

Reform is always difficult.  We get used to comforts and don’t want to give them up.  Nevertheless, we should be ready to embrace genuine reform, like John Chrysostom promotes, that takes us back to Jesus.  Like the centurion, we want to ask his intercession before the Father for moral and spiritual as well as physical strength.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary time

(I Corinthians 11:17-26.33; Luke 7:1-10)

Pope Francis has requested more consideration for couples in irregular marriages.  In his exhortation The Joy of Love he acknowledges that sometimes people find themselves in difficult situations.  Perhaps they had married without due consideration of what they were doing the first time.  Or maybe they cannot leave a second union without causing grave injustice.  Francis does not consider their cases as hopeless.  Rather he outlines various possibilities to integrate these couples into Church life.  In today’s gospel we can see the centurion in a situation akin to these couples.

The centurion who asks Jesus for help has shown himself to care about others.  He not only is solicitous for his servant but also has built a synagogue for the people. He also expresses a faith in the God of Israel by seeking out Jesus, God’s prophet.  One may ask, “Should he not become a Jew then and even a disciple of Jesus?”  Perhaps he doesn’t because that would end his military career and the support he owes his family.  In any case, Jesus does not accuse him of lacking conviction but recognizes his faith. 

This gospel teaches us more than the desire to trust in Jesus.  It gives us a glimpse of the need for understanding of those in irregular situations.  It further urges us to dialogue with these people so that we may mutually enrich our faith and increase our love.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 7:1-10)

A generation ago the former Beetle George Harrison published a song called “My Sweet Lord.” It tells of the artist’s desire to meet Jesus. “I really want to be with you,” the words go. In a fantasy novel entitled A Day with a Perfect Stranger a woman does meet him. She is an airline passenger who is given a seat between two men one of whom is Jesus. The traveler in the window seat chides her when she mentions that she is having difficulty 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 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. Quite the opposite, he does not want to bother Jesus with the necessary courtesies of greeting a foreign official. He believes that Jesus can cure his servant from a distance. Jesus takes note of this faith and grants his request.

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. Especially in the Eucharist we listen to Jesus’ words encouraging us to trust in him. We also touch him and hold him inside ourselves in the reception of Communion. Jesus does more than let us use an armrest. He gives himself for us to lean on.