Reading 1
Gn 18:1-15
The LORD appeared to Abraham by the Terebinth of Mamre,
as Abraham sat in the entrance of his tent,
while the day was growing hot.
Looking up, he saw three men standing nearby.
When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them;
and bowing to the ground, he said:
“Sir, if I may ask you this favor,
please do not go on past your servant.
Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet,
and then rest yourselves under the tree.
Now that you have come this close to your servant,
let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves;
and afterward you may go on your way.”
The men replied, “Very well, do as you have said.”
Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah,
“Quick, three measures of fine flour!
Knead it and make rolls.”
He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer,
and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it.
Then Abraham got some curds and milk,
as well as the steer that had been prepared,
and set these before them;
and he waited on them under the tree while they ate.
They asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?”
He replied, “There in the tent.”
One of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year,
and Sarah will then have a son.”
Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him.
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years,
and Sarah had stopped having her womanly periods.
So Sarah laughed to herself and said,
“Now that I am so withered and my husband is so old,
am I still to have sexual pleasure?”
But the LORD said to Abraham: “Why did Sarah laugh and say,
‘Shall I really bear a child, old as I am?’
Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do?
At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you,
and Sarah will have a son.”
Because she was afraid, Sarah dissembled, saying, “I didn’t laugh.”
But he replied, “Yes you did.”
Luke 1:46-47, 48-49, 50 and 53, 54-5
Responsorial PsalmR. (see 54b)
The Lord has remembered his mercy.
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
“For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.”
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
“He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.”
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
“He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.”
R. The Lord has remembered his mercy.
Gospel
Mt 8:5-17
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.”
The 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;
and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes;
and 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,
but the children of the Kingdom
will be driven out into the outer darkness,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
And Jesus said to the centurion,
“You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.”
And at that very hour his servant was healed.
Jesus entered the house of Peter,
and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.
He touched her hand, the fever left her,
and she rose and waited on him.
When it was evening, they brought him 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.
Meditation: Matthew 8:5-17
“He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.” (Matthew 8:17)
If we took a poll, we’d probably find that most Christians believe that Jesus’ miracles were real. But if we asked them if miracles still occurred, some might say no. They might claim that miracles happened only in the time of Jesus and his apostles, as a way to proclaim his authority and power as the Son of God. Now that the church is established, God has dispensed with miracles—except perhaps when he works through a few extraordinary saints.
But if we read about the healing of the centurion’s servant, Peter’s mother-in-law, and the many people whom Jesus delivered of evil spirits, we get a different picture. Jesus was not about demonstrating his authority as much as his love. When he said that God’s kingdom was at hand, he was talking about more than another church building going up. He was announcing the Father’s desire to pour his mercy and compassion on his children.
If there’s one thing we know about God, it’s that he is very much alive! He has never stopped trying to get through to us and show us who he is. These miracle accounts are Jesus’ invitation to us—right now, in the midst of our day-to-day concerns— to embrace the salvation he came to bring us. Although we may be used to thinking small, he wants us to think big. The only limit to what he can do in our lives is how much—or how little—faith we have in him.
Just as the centurion sought Jesus’ help so long ago, we too can reach out to him now. Jesus is eager to respond to us with signs of his presence, love, and healing power. We can’t predict exactly what kinds of healings we will receive. We may not see the physical cure we are asking for. But this is certain: No one who turns to Jesus is ever turned away. Each and every one of us receives a healing touch—maybe in surprising areas of our lives—and that touch is enough to fill us with hope and joy that the world simply cannot give.
“Jesus, I surrender. I give you all of my sickness, all of my wounds, all of my grief: You are my only hope, Lord. Stretch out your hand and touch me with your love.”
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