“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
This short response the congregation states before the distribution of Communion at every Mass was nothing more than words we mumble during Mass to me. After a challenge to focus more during the Mass, this particular phrase kept sticking out to me every time it was proclaimed during mass.
The statement is based off of Matthew 8:8 when a Roman centurion responds to Jesus’ yes to healing his servant. “The centurion said in reply, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed’” (Matthew 8:8). Like several of the other miracles that the gospels recount, this centurion admits that Jesus is indeed our Lord in human form. Where he differs from most other miracles found in the gospels though is that he admits to being unworthy of having the Lord enter into his home.
Over time, this phrase has stuck out to me for just how complex it is. By placing ourselves as the role of the centurion, we humble ourselves and ask the Lord to help us. While I’m sure that whole papers have been written over just this response alone, I’ll break down what it means to me.
“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…”
This phrase is an admittance that we’re not deserving of the incredible love, the Eucharist, that is about to given to us. There’s nothing we’ve done or nothing that we can do to possibly deserve everything that the He has done for us and what He continues to do. We’re the troubled children of God that are constantly wrestling with sin. We are not worthy of the heart of God for countless reasons and there’s nothing we can do to make us of deserving of that heart.
You want to hear the good news? All of that does not matter. All of the hurt and pain and sin that makes us not worthy of His love does not matter because He still gives His love to us, not as a reward but as a gift. The heart of God is the perfect love that we so desperately need and all we have to do is accept it into our lives.
“…only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
It sounds too good to be true because it’s too good for us. We’re an imperfect people but God chooses to love us anyways. We are far from deserving of this gift but through His redeeming heart, we are filled with His love. God offers his Eucharist to his imperfect people without condition. The only thing we have to do is accept it.
It honestly does not make logical sense as to why He does it except that He loves us infinitely more than we could ever understand. We were created by God in order to be relentlessly loved by Him. The best way to receive that love is by the sacraments. In a world where everybody is searching aimlessly for a fulfilling love life, we can rest in the knowledge that through the Eucharist, God offers himself to us in a form that we could consume and have within us.
God deeply desires that we would accept His love. A love that is specifically crafted for you, fulfilling, and given to us for free; the only thing we have to do is accept Him. This unfair love that we cannot possibly understand is offered during mass. The gift that we could never possibly deserve is given to us on the Altar during mass. It’s just up to us if we accept this or not.
“I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
Take a closer look at this Jesus who loves you with the most radical love in Mark Hart’s book, A Second Look: Encountering the True Jesus.
