Fr Matthew Reese

“When [Jesus] was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, ‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.’” (Luke 7:6–7, also in Matthew 8:5-8)

Dear Friends,

In today’s Gospel lesson from Luke, we encounter the story of the centurion and his slave who is near to death.

The centurion doesn’t go to Jesus himself, he sends the Jewish elders, men who can attest to his patronage, his generosity. Already, this is a level of deference we would never expect from a Roman officer to an itinerant Jewish preacher. But when Jesus says he will come heal the slave, the centurion waves him off: “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.”

The centurion knows Jesus doesn’t need to touch the sick man or even see him. His word alone will heal him… “When Jesus heard this, he marveled at him […] ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith’.” They return to the house; the slave is already healed.

The centurion’s succinct words have echoed down the ages in a beautiful prayer traditionally said after the Agnus Dei: “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my soul shall be healed.”

Scripture is replete with unworthy human beings. From great kings and judges to petty thieves and tax collectors. All of them––all of us––sinners and outcasts in our own right. People who are not worthy to have Christ under our roof, not worthy to “gather up the crumbs under [his] table.” And yet there he is. On the street, at the table, at the end. Christ, healing us, redeeming us, not just with his touch, but with his word––before we have even realized it.

When I recite this prayer to myself on the way to communion, asking that “my soul shall be healed,” I sometimes meditate––as the centurion surely did––on the healing power of Christ’s word. And when I do, I am reminded that the site of transformation is not solely the reception of Christ’s Body and Blood… it is also the walk to the rail.

Yours in Christ,

—Fr Matthew