“You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour his servant was healed. – Matthew 8:13

       “By Management” is a favorite phrase used on many Filipino signs. It’s posted on warnings like “No Entry – By  Management” or “Work Suspended – By Management.” It evokes authority.

     In today’s reading, we are reintroduced to the centurion whose declaration of faith is now part of every Mass. Let’s take a look at how he viewed authority:

       1. He understood authority – His soldiers and servants followed his command, but illness wasn’t subject to his power. Still, he understood there was One who commands life and death. He acknowledged Jesus’ authority and reached out.

       2. He cared for the people under his authority – He used his authority to build community and showed that servants were not property but people who needed caring.

       3. He believed in Jesus’ authority – You don’t ask Jesus for anything with that kind of faith without knowing who He is. The centurion knew the Lord and taught us what that kind of faith meant. May we all learn to trust Jesus the way the centurion did. Rod Velez (rod.velez@live.com)

Pope Francis Says:“Among us, who is above must be in service of the others. This doesn’t mean we have to wash each other’s feet every day, but we must help one another.”

Lord, You have always protected those who cannot protect themselves. Teach us to do the same, especially for those whom You have placed under our care.

This book laments the sins of the people. We do not want to wallow in our sinfulness, but it is a healthy thing to acknowledge the gravity of sin for us to feel sorrow and to desire our transformation. This is what holiness is all about — getting rid of the bad and embracing all that is good that comes from God.

Lamentation 2:2, 10-14, 18-19

2 The Lord has consumed without pity all the dwellings of Jacob; He has torn down in his anger the fortresses of daughter Judah; He has brought to the ground in dishonor her king and her princes. 10 On the ground in silence sit the old men of daughter Zion; they strew dust on their heads and gird themselves with sackcloth; The maidens of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground. 11 Worn out from weeping are my eyes, within me all is in ferment; my gall is poured out on the ground because of the downfall of the daughter of my people, as child and infant faint away in the open spaces of the town. 12 In vain they ask their mothers, “Where is the grain?” As they faint away like the wounded in the streets of the city, and breathe their last in their mothers’ arms. 13 To what can I liken or compare you, O daughter Jerusalem? What example can I show you for your comfort, virgin daughter Zion? For great as the sea is your downfall; who can heal you? 14 Your prophets had for you false and specious visions; they did not lay bare your guilt, to avert your fate; They beheld for you in vision false and misleading portents. 18 Cry out to the Lord; moan, O daughter Zion! Let your tears flow like a torrent day and night; let there be no respite for you, no repose for your eyes. 19 Rise up, shrill in the night, at the beginning of every watch; Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your little ones who faint from hunger at the corner of every street.

Psalm 74:1-2, 3-5, 6-7, 20-21

R: Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.

1 Why, O God, have you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? 2 Remember your flock which you built up of old, the tribe you redeemed as your inheritance, Mount Zion, where you took up your abode. (R) 3 Turn your steps toward the utter ruins; toward all the damage the enemy has done in the sanctuary. 4 Your foes roar triumphantly in your shrine; they have set up their tokens of victory. 5 They are like men coming up with axes to a clump of trees. (R) 6 With chisel and hammer they hack at all its paneling of the sanctuary. 7 They set your sanctuary on fire; the place where your name abides they have razed and profaned. (R) 20 Look to your covenant, for the hiding places in the land and the plains are full of violence. 21 May the humble not retire in confusion; may the afflicted and the poor praise your name. (R)

GOSPEL

Jesus can heal a person from afar. This is because His Father in heaven gives Him full authority. We share in this authority because Jesus, in turn, has given it to us in baptism. If there is a lack of miracles in our community, then maybe we do not pray for them. We must exercise the authority God has given us for it to grow in effectiveness and power.

Christ took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.

5 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” 7 He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8 The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven, 12 but the children of the Kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour his servant was healed. 14 Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him. 16 When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, 17 to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.

Thank You Lord for: __________________

HEALING AND SERVING

The unconnected vignettes in our Gospel passage today turns out to be a slice-of-life snapshot of Jesus’ typical day. He healed the sick, His preferred way of reaching out to the poor and marginalized. After all, they who have less in life ought to be more blessed in the way of divine providence and justice.

       But somehow, we are expected to reciprocate that extraordinary grace from God. It’s the least we can do. Having been healed by God of our sins and shortcomings, we, in turn, need to reach out to others who are less fortunate than us. To them we bring blessings from the very same God. By way of examples from the Gospel. Peter’s mother-in-law, barely minutes after being healed by Jesus, immediately waited on Him. The centurion, too, selflessly and humbly considered not his own advantage but he interceded on behalf of his servant who was ill.

     The centurion as a leader was a fine model of what we would call nowadays a servant-leader. He knew his place and he had humility to recognize his limitations as a leader. Not to mention that he was more concerned about the welfare of others, not just his own.

      No wonder Jesus was impressed by him. For Jesus knows a good thing when He sees one. It was a brand of leadership unmistakably very much like His own.

       To Jesus, therefore, our beloved Servant-Leader, we commit our utter allegiance and loyalty. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Are you in a position of authority, whether at home, at work or in community? How do you treat your subordinates or the people under you?

Make me Your servant-leader, Lord. I lift up to You the people under my authority. Bless them, too, as You are blessing me. Amen.