I am not worthy…

Lord…I am not worthy.

What faith! This centurion – a Gentile – makes a humble confession to Jesus, admitting that he is not worthy to have Jesus enter his home. He even sends Jewish elders to plead his case for him because he feels it would be inappropriate for him to approach so holy a man!

Now contrast his words with the words of the elders who spoke up for him; “He deserves to have you do this for him,” they urge, because of his generosity toward the Jews.

Which of these two approaches is right? Is the centurion unworthy of deserving? Should he seek healing fo rthis servant on the basis of his previous acts of kindness? Or should he throw himself at Jesus’ feet and beg for mercy – for undeserved grace and favor? As in so many other situations, the answer is not either – or.  It is both – and.

This is good news.  It can be easy to forget that we depend on God’s mercy for every breath we take.  Every good attribute we have is a gift from his generous hand. It can also be easy to think that Jesus “owes” us a favor because of our faithfulness.  But in reality, we owe him everything we are and everything we have. He is our Savior, not our business partner; he is our Lord, not our next door neighbor.

At the same time, God wants us to know that he sees every good thing that we do, and it pleases him. He sees every act of kindness, he hears every prayer of repentance and trust, and he feels all the compassion we have for the people around us. All of these actions move him to respond with love, healing, and grace.

As we get closer to the Lord, we become both humble and bold at the same time.  We know we are not worthy, but we also know how merciful our God is.  The Church helps us learn this balance by placing the centurion’s words on our lips at every Mass, just before we take the bold step of approaching the alter and receiving Jesus in Communion.  May we all become like this centurion, filled with the humble confidence of faith!

-word among us