Only say the word and my servant will be healed

MONDAY 2 DECEMBER (Mt 8,5-11)

Christ Jesus, being true God and true man, perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, is an eternal and infinite mystery, never fully understood and always to be understood. Even eternity is not enough and suffices to enter into the full knowledge of his truth. From heaven he descends to earth. He is made flesh. He comes to live among us full of grace and truth. Every person who meets with Him catches only a spark of his infinite mystery. Brought together all the gathered sparks, a full truth can be drawn about his person and his mission. But it always remains an incomplete truth. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to take a loving heart of the truth of Christ and to bring it from light to light, up to the summit of knowledge and science attainable by a creature, which is limited by essence.

Today a centurion comes before Jesus. This man has an experience. In the army of Rome he is subordinate to people higher than him, but he too has soldiers under his rule. He receives a word and executes it. He gives a word to which obedience is immediately given. Jesus is not a centurion, he is not a consul and is not an emperor who rules men. He is the Lord over all creation. Nothing is above Him. Instead everything has been submitted to Him. It is as if the centurion knew Daniel’s prophecy: “As I watched, Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne. His clothing was snow bright, and the hair on his head as white as wool; His throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire. A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened, and the books were opened” (Dn 7,9-10).

This is the first part of the prophecy. Now the second part is following: “As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed” (Dn 7,9-10.13-14). If Jesus was placed above everything, everything must immediately be obedient to him. From this faith the centurion draws the deduction: it is sufficient that He says a Word and his servant will be healed Who commands does not have to go in person. It suffices that his word is brought. Word uttered, healing achieved. Command given, obedience given. Truly this man believes in the truth of Jesus. He is the Most High and the Sovereign.

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 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. For I too am a person 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.” 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. 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.

Today, just this faith has failed. For many Christians Jesus is no longer the Most High, the Sovereign, the God through whom everything was created, the Saviour, the Redeemer, Grace, truth, Light and Life. People are making of him a man like all other men. Even of his Word its truth and uniqueness is being lost. By now it is no longer the only Word of eternal life. Every other word of men is declared a word of salvation and redemption. It is urgent that the true faith in Christ Jesus is recovered and placed on the lamp stand. When the truth of Jesus is lost, everything that comes from it is lost. Having lost the truth of our incarnate God, even the truth of the Church, his body, is lost. Nothing remains in its truth anymore. It gives great sadness to the heart to see Jesus’ disciples set fire to the truth of their Lord, burning themselves in turn!

Mother of God, Angels and Saints, do not let the truth of Christ to be destroyed.