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Gospel Reading for June 27, 2026 – Matthew 8: 5-17
MIRACLES HAPPEN
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.
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The centurion possessed the very qualities that opened the way for a miracle to happen.
First, he was Humble. Although he was a Roman officer with authority and influence, he approached Jesus with humility, pleading for the healing of his servant and confessing that he was not worthy to have Jesus enter his home.
Second, he had Great Faith. He believed that Jesus did not even need to be physically present to perform the miracle. He trusted that a single word from Jesus would be enough to heal his servant from a distance.
Third, he was Compassionate. In a time when many masters regarded servants as easily replaceable, the centurion genuinely cared for his servant’s well-being and sought every possible means to help him.
Whenever Jesus healed someone, he often said, “Your faith has saved you,” or “Your faith has made you well.” He consistently pointed to the person’s faith as the disposition that opened the heart to receive God’s grace. God is always ready to pour out his blessings upon us, but faith enables us to receive them. In this sense, MIRACLES HAPPEN because we open our hearts to God’s saving power and allow him to work in our lives.
Lord Jesus, help us grow in humility, strengthen our faith, and fill our hearts with compassion, so that we may always be open to the miracles you desire to accomplish in us and through us!
