Monday 24th November 2025

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him  and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralysed, 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,  while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.’ And the servant was healed in that hour.

Reflection

Here we have a Centurion, an officer of the Empire which Jesus’ disciples and followers expected the Messiah to overthrow. This powerful member of this occupier empire is asking someone of the occupied land for healing for the occupier’s servant.  This powerful person says to Jesus – of all people – that the Centurion is not worthy of Jesus’ presence in his house. He sees that Jesus, one of the occupied citizens, has the astonishing power to bring wholeness, exercising power greater than that of the Centurion and his employer empire. Jesus is blown away.  Jesus notes that his Jewish friends and followers are struggling with seeing who he is and should not be surprised to be disregarded for that lack of faith.  This empire officer does see who Jesus is. Incredible.

Matthew’s author places this story after the healing of the Leper, now restored to his faith community because the disease left him. In today’s section with the Centurion, is there a pointer to the restoration of relationship between the occupied and the occupier?  Is this an upturning of imperial power?  The multiple healings after this section show restoration of all kinds of relationships, freeing people from what held them back so that they could focus on each other.  Miracles may be hard to accept, yet in this section of this Gospel, the healings are the alignment of our Divine’s powerful love and our Divine’s intention that there be loving relationships across any boundary which humans receive or create.  

That’s something to note in these shocking days where occupiers and occupied struggle across our earth. Our God of overwhelming love, present in each tragedy and healing, urges us to not give up our hope. Restoration everywhere is possible. Let it be so.

Prayer

God of all time
You know what we do, and can do to each other.
You know if we are silent, collude or wield our power.
You know if we share, listen or serve.
Open our hearts to what each restoration moment requires of us.
Fill us with your energy to act.
Restore our Hope.
Amen and amen.