Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The captain answered, “I am not worthy to
have you under my roof. Just give an order and my boy will be healed. For I myself, a
junior officer, give orders to my soldiers. And if I say to one, ‘Go!’ he goes; and if I say to
another, ‘Come!’ he comes; and if I say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ he does it.” When Jesus
heard this, he was astonished; and said to those who were following him, “I tell you,
I have not found such faith in Israel. I say to you, many will come from east and west and
sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven.

Reflect

“Trust in God's Word.” Advent is a season to immerse ourselves in God’s Word. The Word
of God always serves to be our faith compass. At times, whether we admit it or not, we
might have cast some doubts on the power of God’s Word over us. At the beginning of this
liturgical year, it would be good to look into our relationship with God’s Word. We have to
regain this relationship under the spirit of trust. We can always trust the Word of God. Today’s
Gospel pericope narrates the healing of the servant of an army captain. Jesus entered
Capernaum. The captain approached Jesus, pleading the Lord to heal his servant who was
lying sick at home. Jesus was quick to respond to the plea, being in good disposition to go
and heal the sick servant. The captain told Jesus that there was no need for Jesus to come
under the captain’s roof. Jesus could just say a word (cf. logos) and his servant would be
healed. Jesus commended the captain for his strong faith. The captain exemplifies a person
who has a deep trust in the Word of God. This is the kind of relationship with God’s Word
that we need to recover nowadays.

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