Who is worthy to have Jesus under their roof? The centurion’s question to Christ in today’s Gospel should cause us to pause and consider how this question may relate to us and our lives as Christians. If Jesus were to visit us today, would we be worthy to welcome the Son of God under our roof? If not, then what do we need to do to be worthy of His visit?
Our Gospel lesson today is a great example of honesty and self-reflection, one so deep that even Jesus is amazed (v. 10). The centurion understood the power of real authority: Speak the word and things get done. Anyone who has ever been in the military understands the principle of the chain-of-command and the importance of following orders from their superior. Authority is given to a person by virtue of the authority of the giver; it is an extension of that greater power. In the case of military, it is from the U.S. Congress. The centurion would have received his commission from Caesar and supported by the powers of the Roman Empire. Jesus, of course, received his authority from a much higher power. The extend of the authority is only as good as the power of the giver. When the power comes from a human source, the authority will only extend to this present world. But when the power behind the authority comes from heaven, the boundaries of both heaven and earth are broken, opening the door for the miracles we witness in the Gospel record (Matt. 28:18).
Even if He was not the Son of God, to have someone as popular as Jesus come to your house would have been quite an experience. When we read the Gospel accounts, we see that as Jesus’ ministry grew so did the crowds that followed Him. More than once He fed thousands of people who stayed to hear His teaching. When the house was too full to enter through the front door, people “dropped in” through the roof (Mark 2:4). Think about how you would feel if someone famous and popular were to show up on our porch. You would certainly feel proud to be able to share in some of the reflected popularity and attention afforded to your famous visitor
But we also know from the Gospel accounts that Jesus’ notoriety went beyond His reputation as a great teacher. His ability to perform miraculous healings had to certainly help with His popularity. Just before the encounter with the centurion, Jesus heals a leper with a simple touch of His hand (Matt. 8:1-4). To experience relief from a debilitating ailment or a life-long disability would certainly make someone very popular indeed. One of the focuses of the Gospels are the miraculous healings—called “signs” in St. John’s Gospel—that not only heal the afflicted body but also mend the tormented soul. These are certainly signs since they point to a much higher purpose and authority than the results that can be seen by the human eye.
We can probably think of many different people who we would be honored to stop by our house for a visit. For many of us, to have someone who was famous to even notice us in the crowd would be proof enough of our personal worth. And we notice that with Jesus He did not choose to associate with individuals based on our understanding of what it means to be “worthy.” Consider the centurion: Although he was a man of authority within the Roman society, he would have had little standing within the Jewish community outside of his military commission and responsibility. The commander represented the oppressive foreign occupation of the Jewish homeland, dealing harshly with the uprisings that often occurred in that part of the Roman Empire. In fact, I am sure that the average Judean would not have been too pleased to see a Roman centurion standing on his front porch. He was a Gentile and like the leper would have been considered “untouchable” by members of the observant Jewish society. But the love of God knows no such boundaries: All of us can be touched by God.
But Jesus, like God the Father, sees beyond who we are in this world and considers who we will be in the next. Our position here has little bearing on what we can become. Since Jesus came to call the sinners and not the righteous (Matt. 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32), it would only make sense that He would be seen in the company of societies undesirables. Whether they were tax collectors, harlots or centurions, Jesus was able to see the humanity is each of them. He was not afraid to meet them where they were, to touch them and heal their physical as well as their spiritual suffering. You could not find a more “unworthy” lot of people than the ones who generally followed Christ.
So, what is it that makes us worthy to be able to partake in the blessings and miracles that God gives us? The first step is to acknowledge that we are indeed unworthy. Like the Syrophoenician women, we need to be humble enough to know that know that even the smallest amount of God’s mercy is much more than we deserve (Mark 7:24-30). Our worthiness is not counted in the amount of money we have or by our earthly honors, but by the level of our faith as we come humbly before God. To put this in perspective, “Humility” is listed as one of the higher virtues (step 25 out of 30) in St. John Climacus’ Ladder of Divine Ascent. St. John describes this virtue as the “constant forgetfulness of one’s achievements.” It is “a grace in the soul and with a name known only to those who have experience of it.”
Humility is the virtue that helps us see the truth of our lives we live, since we are often blinded by the passion of pride. When we believe that we can live our lives without God, then we lose sight of our heavenly home. We truly become blind, stumbling through life thinking that we are the only thing that matters and the credit for all our accomplishment belong solely to ourselves. As the darkness of pride slowly closes in, we become our own little islands sitting in the middle of a vast ocean of nothingness. We lose sight of our true purpose and believe we are the only thing that exists. Our little island of pride becomes our whole world and we live only for ourselves and whatever we believe will continue to feed our need for self-recognition. God has no place on our tiny Island of Pride.
Those who have received the grace to recognize their spiritual blindness to pride will also have available the grace to cure the disease. As we witness throughout the Gospel accounts, there are three very important factors that make a person “worthy” to receive the blessings of God. First, there is the fear of God. This, of course, is not the “trembling in my boots” type of fear that is derived from being scared for our own lives. It is a fear that is the product of respect for God because of Who His is and what He has done for us. The Proverbs tells us: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (9:10). Wisdom and understanding. Most importantly, the fear of God is a sign of our humility: You would not fear anyone who you felt superior to. It is a recognition that He is God and we are not.
The second trait we find is the faith demonstrated by the recipient that affects the miracle that Christ performs. In each situation, whether Jesus confronted a Jew or Gentile, the believe of the person that Jesus could perform the cure was enough to put the miracle in motion. We know that faith “is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). I am sure that there was some risk for the centurion to approach Jesus and ask for His assistance, and there was probably an even greater risk for the centurion to acknowledge the authority and power of Christ. The hope that the centurion had was for a healing of a beloved servant who he could not see; he did not even try to analyze how it could be done. The centurion only knew of the power Christ processed; a power so great that centurion was not even worthy of the blessing of Christ’s presence.
The third factor is the underlying theme throughout both Testaments: Love, for both God and His people. Love encompasses the fear of God and faith. Love drove the centurion to Jesus in the first place and love caused the Syrophoenician woman to confront Jesus to ask for the healing of her daughter. Love gave the men strength to lower their paralyzed friend through a hole in the roof so he could be in the presence of Christ. Love is an action word, not an emotion, that causes people to do great things and to endure great sufferings, all for the sake of someone else, with no other benefit to themselves other than to see the happiness of the other.
We see all three of these divine factors come together each time we gather to partake in the body and blood of Jesus Christ. How many of us even considered the words that are pronounced when the chalice is brought forth through the Royal Doors: “In the fear of God, and with faith and love, draw near”? This is our invitation to partake of the most incredible mystery the Church has to offer to us, a gift that we are totally unworthy to accept. But it is only by God’s grace that we may, with fear of God and faith and love, draw near to the body and precious blood of our Lord, God and Savior. This incredible gift of God’s love and grace is given to us, that we may take into ourselves the elements that will sanctify us and give us life (John 6:53). When taken with a pure mind and heart, the Holy Mysteries becomes our path to the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
So, let each of approach the chalice with humility, knowing our unworthiness but relying on God’s mercy. Only then will our bodies become a clean, proper dwelling place, suitable for the King of Glory.