Chances Are

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven, but the children of the Kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour his servant was healed. 

Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him. When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.  (Matthew 8:5-17)

The centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.”  Like the centurion do we echo that unworthiness?   We claim unworthiness at every Mass because we parrot the centurion’s words.

What makes us unworthy?  Chances are we all have someone to forgive or we need forgiveness and haven’t asked those we have hurt or offended.  Chances are someone is hungry and we haven’t provided food and comfort.  Chances are we lied about something to get our way or to hide some offense.  Chances are we bear grudges, gossip, and give lip-service to our faith, that is, no good deeds.

Chances are we might find ourselves in places where there is wailing and grinding of teeth.   Chances are when we hear the wail and grind, those sounds are coming from our own mouths.   Chances are we need another chance to change our ways. 

Jesus believes in second chances because he knows that deep down we are all worthy and need to be healed.  After all, he took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.

Deacon David Pierce