Only Say the Word
This morning’s Gospel reading recalls the story of a Roman Centurion who approaches Jesus with the request to heal his servant. When Jesus asks him to take him to his servant his reply is stunning in the faith expressed, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant will be healed.” Christ upon hearing these words tells those with him that he has not seen this kind of faith in all of Israel.
These words should be familiar to Catholics as they are prayed in our liturgy in the moments right before we are to receive communion. The priest holds Christ’s sacred body and blood aloft and says, “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, happy are all who are called to his supper.” The response of the faithful mirror the words of the centurion, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”
In my younger years I often thought this an odd prayer as it seemed to me that if one felt unworthy, perhaps he should simply not receive the Eucharist until one felt prepared to receive it. But as I have gotten older I have come to realize that things are never quite so black and white. We are none of us ever worthy to receive Christ in the way that he gives himself to us in the Eucharist, but he wants to give us himself nonetheless. And though we are not worthy, he can still find a home in us if we approach him in faith and humility.
In the Orthodox Church there is a similar prayer said immediately before coming forward to receive the Eucharist:
Of thy Mystical Supper, O Son of God, accept me today as a communicant: for I will not speak of thy Mystery to thine enemies, neither, like Judas, will I give thee a kiss; but like the thief will I confess thee: Remember me, O Lord, in thy kingdom. And let not this participation in thy Holy Mysteries be unto judgment upon me, or unto condemnation, O Lord, but unto the healing of body and soul.
Both the shorter prayer of the centurion in the West and this longer one in the East should remind us of the seriousness of the sacrament we are participating in, in our own unworthiness to be standing where we are, and at the same time the healing that is offered to us if we present ourselves humbly to our God. It should say something important to us to note that the examples given in these prayers of those who properly approached Christ are a Roman Centurion and a thief. Neither one is a person who is expected to be an example of someone with the proper relationship to God, but here they are before us, lighting our way.
May we follow their example during this season of Advent as we prepare the way of the Lord by opening our hearts and homes to him, unworthy though we are.
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