Faith Is The Key To Life

𝐃𝐄𝐂. 𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟒:𝟐-𝟔

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟐𝟐:𝟏-𝟗 “𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐠𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝.” 

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟖:𝟓-𝟏𝟏

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑰𝒔𝒓𝒂𝒆𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉.” (𝒗.10) 

         There are at least three godly virtues that we probably will not expect from a man of authority such as the Roman Centurion in today’s Gospel passage that even Jesus was amazed for he had never seen such character from among the people he had encountered so far.

         These three virtues were the 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 of the Roman Centurion that was quite exceptional for a man of his stature. The Roman Centurion was a man of great resolve for he belongs to an elite group that served as the backbone of the Roman army.

         A Roman legion normally consists of 6,000 men and this was divided into 60 centuries, each counting 100 men and in command of each century was a Centurion. They were well trained, and they were held responsible for the discipline of their men as the morale of the Roman army depended on them.

         Centurions show great courage in action and were reliable. They do not rush into a fight but when pressed, they are ready to hold their ground and die on their posts. The Centurions were the finest specimens in the Roman army.

         It is probably in this regard that Centurions were mentioned in the Scriptures with honor and respect. We remember the Centurion who recognized Jesus on the Cross as the Son of God. Cornelius who was the first Gentile who converted to the Christian Church. And there was the Centurion who found that Paul was a Roman citizen and rescued him.

         Another Centurion saved Paul from the Jews on his journey between Jerusalem and Caesarea. And there was the Centurion who treated Paul with courtesy on their way to Rome and who deferred to Paul’s guidance when a storm struck the ship they were on board.

         For a man of great courage and authority, this Centurion went to Jesus in all humility. Aware of his situation as a Gentile who was discriminated by the Jews, this Centurion gathered all his courage and humbled himself to present to Jesus a request to heal his servant.

         What also caught the attention of Jesus was the attitude of the Centurion towards his servant who probably was a slave, but the Centurion was concerned that his servant was paralyzed and in terrible suffering. This attitude was the reverse of the normal practice in those days between a master and a slave.

         In fact, slaves who have no legal rights were inconsequential among the Romans. But this Centurion was different because he showed compassion for his servant and this love which covers a multitude of sins was probably the one thing that moved Jesus to say: “𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐦.” (𝐯.𝟕)        

         Again, the Centurion showed he was a man of great faith. Knowing that the Mishnah (a book of instruction from which parts of the Talmud were based) prevent Jews from coming to the house of a Gentile that is deemed unclean, the Centurion simply said: “𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟖)            

         At which Jesus said: “𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟎) And here Jesus used an imagery of which Jews were quite familiar – the picture of a great banquet when the Messiah will come. The Jews looked forward to this event, but Jesus also said that while many will come to the banquet from the east and the west, many too would be thrown out into the outer darkness.

         What Jesus meant was that being a Jew doesn’t give them a mandatory privilege to be in God’s presence at the great banquet, but it is faith. In the same way, belonging to a Church, Community, Ministry or Apostolate doesn’t assure us of eternal salvation. While the Jews believed that he belongs to the chosen race, Jesus preached that the only way to the Kingdom of God is by way of faith.

         In this Season of Advent, we as Christian disciples are being asked to take stock of our lives. Perhaps we should begin to ask ourselves the question as to whether we have the same degree of humility to suffer ridicule in the practice of our faith.

         Do we feel genuine compassion for the lowly and the marginalized and not propelled by personal motives other than an authentic desire to help the poor? And when pressed, do we have the courage and boldness to come to Jesus with extraordinary faith as that of the Roman Centurion?

         But there is also such a thing as blind faith either on persons or systems and in this season of reflection, we can also ask ourselves if we rely too much on our own competence or are we aware of our strength and weaknesses? Do we respond to people in terms of facts, or are we sensitive to the feelings of others as well as our own?

         Do we meet and work with people on their terms or do we demand that people come to us and play by our rules or conditions? Are we enamored by positions of being in charge, or do we submit to authority? In whom and in what do we place our faith?

         This Advent Season, Our Lord Jesus Christ wants us to seek him and the coming of his kingdom because only those with extraordinary faith in him will be invited to the great feast. This is the reward that awaits those who will put their trust in Jesus. We can all probably emulate the kind of faith the Roman Centurion had because at the end of the day when he comes, Jesus will unite all things to himself Jew and Gentile alike (𝐄𝐩𝐡 𝟏:𝟏𝟎).        

          Like the Centurion, we can all approach Jesus with such great faith emboldened by the expectation that he will grant us his mercy and Grace. And while we are still on the subject about faith, Pope Francis in his first Apostolic Exhortation – 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐢 𝐆𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦 – has issued a call for renewal and a rethinking of the way every person and every institution, from the Pope and the Roman Curia down to the parish and its parishioners, live their faith and focus their energies.

         Pope Francis sees the Christian life as being based on knowing and experiencing God’s love, mercy and salvation offered to all through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

        Thus, evangelization programs and catechesis, said the Holy Father, must be designed to help people return to that basic knowledge and experience and help them understand church teaching in light of God having revealed himself as loving and merciful. And what this Gospel is saying is that God’s love and mercy will flow when there is faith. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘋𝘦𝘤. 1, 2025)