“COME,
LET US WALK IN THE LIGHT OF THE LORD”
Meditation for Monday of the First
Week of Advent
(Is 2:1-5; Mt 8:5-11)
In this Season we celebrate our waiting
for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the SOUND OF SILENCE, this holy ‘waiting’
shall be the lens through which we reflect on the readings. In ‘waiting’ for a
good to happen, we, at the same time and by that singular act, become conscious
of the absence of that good, and the consequences thereof! So, as the Centurion
desired healing for his servant from Jesus, he was equally burdened by the
consequences of that sickness. As he came forward to Jesus to beg Him to heal
the servant, His hope in the healing power of Jesus included his desire to get
off the burden of the sickness.
What if he came to Jesus only because he
wanted to be freed of the burden of the sickness? His waiting and longing for
Jesus would not be an ‘Advent.’ But the Centurion acted differently! When Jesus
agreed to come and heal the servant, the man humbly replied, “Lord, I am not
worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant
will be healed.” By this act of humility and expression of faith, the Centurion
demonstrated he was mostly attracted by the PERSON of Jesus, His holiness and
power. This attraction and humble surrender to the person of Jesus ranked
higher for him than the self-compelling push to be freed from the burden of the
sickness. Thus, the yearning of this man for the Mighty Jesus to come down to
his lowly state and heal his servant is an ‘Advent’, for he ‘waited’ on the
Lord Jesus in His power and righteousness.
The Centurion ‘waited’ on the Lord; he
received Jesus in his heart, and not just to ‘received’ Him in his problems.
This is because he saw his life through the holiness and power of Jesus. Thus,
in his ‘Advent’, the Lord visited him and answered his prayers. “Come, let us
walk in the light of the Lord.” Though we may have many personal problems
pushing us to long for solutions, let us allow the power and righteousness of
Jesus to attract us to His person. He will surely answer us as He did to the
Centurion, “I will come and heal him.” Amen.
Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Monday November 29th, 2021.
