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Gospel Reading for December 01, 2025 – Matthew 8: 5-11
ENTITLED
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.”
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The centurion was a Roman army officer having about 80 to 100 soldiers under him. They were said to have much discipline and intelligence, so perhaps this was why this particular centurion believed in Jesus’ ability to heal. Unlike a lot of us who are in positions of power and who think we are ENTITLED to such privileges, he APPEALED AND DID NOT IMPOSE upon Jesus to cure his paralyzed servant. On top of this, he was asking for help not for himself, but for his servant. And, his faith was such that he believed that even without physically being present at his home, just the word of Jesus would be enough to heal his servant.
On this 2nd day of the liturgical Season of Advent, let us reflect upon how we use our positions in our communities, places of work and at home.
Lord, may we prepare for your coming by using our positions improving the lives of those put under our
