“Combining strong belief in the Lord with good behaviour, to experience God’s mighty interventions in life!”
(Based on Isa 2:1-5 and Mt 8:5-11 – Monday of the 1st Week in Advent)
A preacher of the Word of God once said:
“There are two parts of the Gospel…
… the first part is called as ‘believing’
… the second part is called as ‘behaving’
When the first part joins hands with the second part, great miracles take place in life!”
How true!
When ‘strong belief’ in the Lord combines with ‘good behaviour,’ we experience God’s mighty interventions in life!
The Gospel of the Day is a wonderful incident of a man who combined “his deep faith with amazing actions of faith”…
… and thus experienced the mighty intervention of the Lord in his life.
As we enter into the Season of Advent, we are presented with the incident of the healing of the Centurion’s servant.
Jesus lavishes His appreciation for the wonderful display of faith.
This is a wonderful story of an amazing man with an amazing belief, who displays his faith in an amazing way!
- The Centurion was an amazing person
Centurions were responsible for commanding a ‘century,’ which was a unit of the Roman army consisting of around 80 to 100 soldiers.
They were well-respected for their leadership, discipline, and authority within the Roman military hierarchy.
They worked for the Roman Empire and were Gentiles.
This Centurion in the Gospel, however, was amazing, because of the fact, that he was very much concerned about his slave.
This was rare indeed.
In the Roman Empire, slaves had no rights.
They could be mistreated and even put to death.
It was said that “when your animals are old, you throw them out to die. You do the same with your slaves.”
So this is the amazing aspect about this amazing Centurion – He cared very much about his slave!
- The centurion displayed an amazing faith
The Centurion came to Jesus asking and pleading for help.
But when Jesus said that He would come to his house and heal him, the centurion was quick to answer him, “I am not worthy to have you under my roof” (Mt 8:8)
The centurion exhibits the spirit of a military man.
A soldier’s way of thinking is extremely logical and to the point:
When an order is given, instant obedience is expected.
His thought pattern was clear: “My commanding power goes beyond the realms of space. My presence or absence is no excuse for my soldiers to disobey!”
The Centurion fully believed that Jesus was a mighty commander with all powers subjected to Him.
And so a word was enough for the healing to take place!
- The Centurion received an amazing response
This amazing expression of faith was enough for Jesus to admire and appreciate Him.
Jesus was astonished by this wonderful demonstration of confidence: “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel, have I found such faith” (Mt 8: 10)
We have seen many instances of people praising and appreciating the works and wonders of Jesus.
But, it’s one of those rare occasions, when Jesus publicly acknowledges and asserts the glorious faith of the one seeking for help.
The Lord, indeed, celebrates and commends this remarkable display of faith…
… and in turn, presents us with a compelling challenge to reflect on our faith journey!
In times…
… when we find ourselves amid a sea of negativity and discouragement
… when we face potentially devastating failures and despair
… when the daily struggles of life weigh heavily on us, leading to feelings of dejections
Can we also boldly say, “Only say a word, Lord… and I will be healed!”
As a famous saying goes, “It is easy to praise the Lord…
… But it is truly a challenge to receive praises from the Lord!”
When we have confidence in our love for God, we receive admiration from Him!
Through Prophet Isaiah, we are called to ascend the mountain of faith and to allow the Lord’s mountain to be established as the highest in the our life…
… to make sure that we give the highest priority to the Lord in everything we do
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord… come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!” (Cf. Isa 2:3,5)
Yes, we are made to realise that it’s not just enough to have a “belief at the lip-level”…
… but we need to translate them into good behaviour!
Indeed, when our strong belief in the Lord combines with our good behaviour, we experience God’s mighty interventions in life!
God Bless! Live Jesus!
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Ten Commandments – The First Commandment
One can sin against God’s love in various ways:
Indifference neglects or refuses to reflect on divine charity; it fails to consider its prevenient goodness and denies its power
Ingratitude fails or refuses to acknowledge divine charity and to return him love for loveLukewarmness is hesitation or negligence in responding to divine love; it can imply refusal to give oneself over to the prompting of charity. (CCC # 2094)
Reflection Capsules 