Ready for Grace
What does it mean to be worthy of God's grace?
And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, 'Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. - Luke 7:6-7
In today's Gospel, we have a centurion who sends word to Jesus that his slave is ill, a slave he loves.
The words the centurion speaks are words that have found their way into the Liturgy. "Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed."
Rather than being an apology for our state of being, it represents an awareness of it, and an admiration for the amazing grace by which God heals and comforts His people.
All it takes, we say, is a word from the anointed one and we will be healed, our loved one will be cured, our lives will be changed.
In this case, Jesus granted the wish of the centurion; he rose the slave from death and brought him back to life.
That act should give us hope, but it doesn't always do that. Instead, we fear that the word will not come and the healing will not take place. We doubt.
That is not to say that we in our lack of faith are responsible for the death of a loved one who is ill, but our faith and theirs play a major role, I believe, in the healing process.
It is when we give up hope that we succumb to the illness and slip away more quickly than if we believe God is with us and hears us.
None of us are worthy; we are all sinful. It is in our being and we cannot overcome our nature, but we can, by acknowledging our nature, put ourselves in a position to be ready for grace.
We can set our sights on God and be open to His presence in our lives, knowing whatever the outcome, our lives here are short and we will be welcome home when those lives are over.
So, I believe the lesson in this reading is to be ready for grace and to be eager to receive it, in whatever form it appears. Whether it is comfort in sickness or healing or peace.
To be like the centurion, trusting in God and willing to accept all that He has in store for us, is to be worthy, even though we accept that we are not.
If I live this day as though it may be my last, then I will appreciate tomorrow more when it comes. And that, by the grace of God, is an answer to my prayers.
More to come...