A Roman military officer lived there, whose servant was very sick and near to death, a man very
dear to him. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent some elders of the Jews to persuade him to
come and save his servant’s life. The elders came to Jesus and begged him earnestly, saying, “He
deserves this of you, for he loves our people and even built a synagogue for us.”
Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house, when the Roman officer sent friends to give
this message, “Sir, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to welcome you under my roof.
You see, I didn’t approach you myself. Just give the order, and my servant will be healed. For I myself,
a junior officer, give orders to my soldiers, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to the other,
‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
On hearing these words, Jesus was filled with admiration. He turned and said to the people with him,
“I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” The people, sent by the captain,
went back to his house; there they found that the servant was well.
Reflect:
To have the kind of faith that fills God with admiration is no small feat! The faith and conduct of the
unnamed Roman officer were so profound that his words have entered the Rite of Communion in
the Holy Mass. He definitely deserved it, for he exhibited many evangelical virtues: a profound faith
that honored God and confessed his own unworthiness; deep trust that Jesus would do the right
thing for his servant; genuine concern for the welfare of his servant – being an officer, he had far
greater matters to busy himself with and no one would have faulted him if he hadn’t cared for his
ailing servant; though a Roman official, he respected the religious traditions of the Jews and
provided them with a synagogue… What greater proof Jesus needed for his love of God and
neighbor! This saintly pagan must definitely serve as a model for us, Christians.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2022