The Gospel for Monday of the first week of Advent is taken from Matthew 8:11. When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully. He said to him, I will come and cure him. Centurion said in reply, lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me.

And I say to one, go. And he goes to another, come here. And he comes to my slave. Do this. And he does it. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, amen.

I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west and will recline with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven. What strikes me in this reading is the words, he was amazed. There’s one other time in the scriptures that Jesus is amazed and it’s a negative in the other one. It is simply the fact that he looked at the neighbors and his friends that he grew up with, and when he described who he was, they were absolutely super closed, could not fathom that this ordinary man could be something more than what he seems to be. In this case, it’s someone who’s got an understanding, a clear understanding of the way the world works.

The centurion was fully conscious of a system. When there is authority and one has authority over others, they tell them what to do and they must respond. They do respond. That’s the way the system works. And that’s all he’s asking of those that listen to Jesus. Just understand, this is how it works.

God can do what he promises. Trust in him, believe in him, and it will lead to fullness, transformation, awakening, full consciousness. Please take a moment to reflect and then I will close with a prayer. Sam. Satan. Satan.

Satan. Sam. Satan. Sam. Closing prayer Father, it’s interesting how many things and how many situations have taught us certain things. And some of the things that we’ve learned, we have to unlearn, we have to let go of.

And so please, if there is anything in us that doesn’t believe that Jesus can do what he promises, free us from that, Free us so that we can receive and drink of his healing power. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.