Readings: Isaiah 4:2-6 / Matthew 8:5-11
Setting the Scene
A Roman centurion approaches Jesus. This is stunning. Roman centurions commanded about 80 soldiers; they were the backbone of the occupying force that kept Israel under Rome's boot. They weren't exactly welcome at Jewish dinner tables.
But this centurion is different. He's heard about Jesus. His servant is paralyzed and suffering terribly. And he does something almost unthinkable: he humbles himself before this Jewish teacher and asks for help.
Jesus says, "I will come and cure him." Simple. Direct. No hesitation.
The centurion's response stops everyone in their tracks.
The Heart of It
"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof."
We say these words at every Mass, right before Communion. But do we mean them the way he meant them? This centurion understood something profound about authority, about power, about unworthiness and grace.
He tells Jesus: Just say the word. I know how authority works; I give orders, and they're obeyed. You have that kind of authority over sickness, over death, over everything. You don't need to come to my house. You don't need to see my servant. Just speak.
Jesus is amazed. The Gospel says He marveled. When's the last time you amazed Jesus?
Then Jesus says something that must have shocked His Jewish followers: "Many will come from east and west and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven."
The Kingdom is for anyone with faith, even a Roman soldier.
For Today's Reflection
Take your time with these questions. Let them work on you.
About Humility:
- Do you really believe you're unworthy, or is it just something you say?
- When did you last approach Jesus with the centurion's kind of humility?
- What would change if you truly grasped that you don't deserve God's presence, yet He comes anyway?
About Faith:
- The centurion believed Jesus could heal from a distance. Do you believe God can work without you seeing or controlling how?
- What are you asking Jesus to "just say the word" about in your life?
- Is your faith big enough to amaze Jesus? Don't be afraid to openly share your faith.
About Boundaries:
- Who are the "unexpected guests" in your life, the people you didn't think belonged at God's table?
- Are there people you've written off as outside God's Kingdom? First of all, that is wrong. Only God judges; all we can do is hope and pray that everyone spends eternity with our Lord.
- What prejudices keep you from seeing God's work in unlikely places?
About Waiting:
- The centurion asked and trusted. He didn't need to see it happen. Can you wait without needing proof? God is always at work in our lives.
- How does this kind of confident trust relate to Advent waiting?
- What's harder: waiting for God to act, or trusting He already has?
Praying the Joyful Mysteries
As you pray today, pay attention to the unexpected guests in your life:
The Annunciation - God chooses a teenage girl.
The Visitation - Elizabeth, old and barren, carries the forerunner.
The Nativity - Born in a stable, announced to the shepherds.
The Presentation - Simeon and Anna, faithful waiters in the margins.
Finding in the Temple - Jesus teaching the teachers.
None of it went the way people expected. God keeps showing up in the "wrong" places, choosing the "wrong" people, working through the "wrong" methods.
The centurion understood: God's ways aren't our ways. God's guest list isn't ours either.
A Quiet Challenge
The centurion had authority over 80 men, but he knew he had no authority over life and death, sickness and health. He knew his limits.
Do you know yours?
Advent asks us to wait, but it also asks us to let go; to stop trying to control the timeline, the method, the guest list. To just trust that when Jesus says the word, it happens.
Even if we can't see it yet.
Closing
Before you begin your day, pray with the centurion's words, but mean them:
"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed."
Then ask:
- What roof am I protecting that I need to open?
- What word am I waiting to hear?
- Who is the unexpected guest you're sending my way today?
Stay awake. Stay humble. Stay ready to be amazed.
Monday of the First Week of Advent
December 1, 2025
A Franciscan Reflection
©2025 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
