Message of Abbot Paul - Monday 28th November 2022

Advent has always been my favourite season, even when I was a small boy. It wasn’t the proximity to Christmas that made me like it so, but the even more exciting prospect of something beyond this life. It was like the science fiction aspect of the Christian faith, the idea of Christ returning at the end of time, coming on the clouds of heaven to judge the living and the dead, in those days known as “the quick and the dead”, an even more exciting prospect. I still haven’t lost my fascination for the end of time or, indeed, my love of Advent with all its wonderful hymns and carols and the very best readings the Scriptures have to offer. Give me Advent any day over any other season of the year.

 

​Today’s Gospel comes from Matthew, (Mt 8: 5-11), and tells of the faith and humility of a centurion and the healing of his servant by Jesus. “When Jesus went into Capernaum a centurion came up and pleaded with him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘my servant is lying at home paralysed, and in great pain.’ ‘I will come myself and cure him,’ said Jesus. The centurion replied, ‘Sir, I am not worthy to have you under my roof; just give the word and my servant will be cured. For I am under authority myself, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man: Go, and he goes; to another: Come here, and he comes; to my servant: Do this, and he does it.’ When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, ‘I tell you solemnly, nowhere in Israel have I found faith like this. And I tell you that many will come from east and west to take their places with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven.’” It’s hardly likely that the centurion would have been a Jew; he would have been a pagan, but a God-fearer nevertheless. This makes no difference to Jesus, who offers to go to the centurion’s house to heal his servant. We note the compassion of the centurion, whose name is not given, and his care for his servant. The centurion’s response to Jesus are the very words we repeat each time we receive Holy Communion and Jesus comes into our homes, the intimate homes of our bodies. We, too, are not worthy, although there may be some who think they are. With the centurion there was no pretence as there can sometimes be with us. Jesus was astonished at his faith and humility and says so publicly. He also goes on to say that the kingdom of heaven will be full of people like this centurion, people of faith, but not necessarily of the right religion in the eyes of those who think themselves perfect. What do we think of people who are not of our faith? Are we prepared, like Jesus, to recognise the faith they have or do we reject them out of hand?