A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
When it was evening, they brought [Jesus] many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus enters Capernaum and encounters the centurion whose servant was at his home, paralyzed and suffering. Amazed at the centurion’s faith and without going to see the servant, Jesus heals him with the words “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” As Jesus enters Peter’s house, Peter’s mother-in-law lies in bed with a fever. As Jesus touches her hand, Matthew tells us, the fever left her. In both of these miraculous healings, Jesus merely says a word or touches to restore the servant and Peter’s mother-in-law. Matthew says that “by a word” Jesus drove out demons and healed the sick. With complete faith in the Lord and with only a word from him, what is there he cannot accomplish?
Lord, help me recognize your power to heal, your willingness to extend your healing to all, and the importance of faith in receiving your healing. Just as in yesterday’s reading as Jesus says to the leper “I do will it,” today he shows his compassion, authority, and his mission to bring salvation to all and to restore them to him. God, with the same faith as the centurion, give me the grace to say, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.”
From the Gospel acclamation: “Christ took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.