(Audio)
Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
We pray this prayer at least weekly in mass. On some level we know it is true. We know that even in a state of grace we can never deserve the intimate way in which our savior comes to dwell in us. Yet this head knowledge seldom penetrates our hearts. We go up to receive casually without the sense of the reality and holiness of the one whom we receive. Although this is natural to experience mass this way nevertheless we do want even our hearts to be transformed. The secret to receiving this grace, the secret the centurion knew, is to confess the power of Jesus with faith.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
This sort of faith, a confession that Jesus has the power to heal, that his words will always achieve their effect (see Isaiah 55:11), is a faith that Jesus loves to hear confessed. By actually confessing it and not just considering the thought halfheartedly we make a concrete act of faith. It is precisely this to which he responds.
The LORD wants his branch to be luster and glory, though it is now tarnished and dull. He wants the fruit of the earth to be honor and splendor though it is now often disgrace. He himself desires to wash away our filth, our sin, our sickness. Our faith can move him to unleash the blessings as these.
May the LORD place in our hearts a desire for wholeness, purity sufficient to behold the one whom we receive with both heart and mind. May he give us the grace us faith to confess his power. Let us put that grace to work.
For over all, the LORD's glory will be shelter and protection:
shade from the parching heat of day,
refuge and cover from storm and rain.
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