By Kulandai Albert csc –
Readings: Is 2:1-5; Mt 8:5-11
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” As we are in the first week of Advent, today’s liturgy of the word invites us to reflect over the theme, “Faith in God brings change”.
In the first reading, Isaiah is sure of the future house of God. He invites all people of God to go to the mountain of the Lord, which is above the hills. From there, God will teach and instruct us his ways and then, we can walk in his paths. As people of God, we need to be sure that God is our teacher, who shows the path to walk in love and joy. To know the paths of God, we need to have faith like the Centurion in the gospel. Jesus heals the Centurion’s servant by seeing and appreciating his faith.
Centurion had great faith in Jesus, which made him sure of what he hoped for and certain of what he did not see. So, he professes his faith by saying, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof but only speak the word and my servant will be healed.’ This was the strong and unchanging faith he had in Jesus.
In our daily life, we believe and have faith in many things and people. We always believe and have faith in certain things or power which holds power over our lives. It may be sometimes difficult to explain why we believe in something. But when it comes to our faith in God, it is weak, and sometimes we doubt and do not understand the plan of God.
Therefore, the liturgy of the word invites us to be strong in faith, to be sure of what we hope for and be certain even of what we do not see.