Matthew 8: 5-11
When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also 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 the slave does it.”
When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
When Jesus was Blind
It seems, in my imagination, that Jesus had become rather accustomed to crowds of people surrounding him wherever he went. There were always the disciples, the religious leaders, the Roman dignitaries (such as the centurion), the curious, the skeptics, and those in need of healing clamoring for Jesus’ attention. In fact, so mundane was the initial exchange with the centurion that Jesus didn’t even seem to really see the person in front of him. He was, in a sense, blind… or at least blindly following what he thought was expected of him. Jesus didn’t wait for a request to be made, he simply said, perhaps absent-mindedly, upon hearing of someone in distress, yes, yes, “I will come and cure him.”
But the centurion, because of his faith, accurate self-assessment, and right-relationship to power, slowed the conversation down. And when the conversation didn’t go according to expectation, Jesus’ vision expanded. Jesus’ eyes were opened to the truth of the experience of the person in front of him, and he saw a surprising future emerge, one of awe and inclusion and surprising kinship. Jesus was amazed. Are you prepared to be amazed by really seeing the people in front of you today?
—Laura Gilmartin H. facilitates Urban Plunge immersion retreats through Casa Romero: A Jesuit Renewal Center, serves on the leadership team of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps of Milwaukee, and maintains a private spiritual care practice for monthly spiritual direction as well as the accompaniment of people through The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. She completed her formation to serve in this capacity through the Seminars in Ignatian Formation with the Midwest Province.
Prayer
Open my eyes, Lord
Help me to see your face
Open my eyes, Lord
Help me to see
—Refrain of “Open My Eyes” by Jesse Manibusan
Pray with the Pope
Pray with the monthly prayer intentions of the pope.