Message of 9-12-16

Published: Mon, 09/12/16

A Daily Spiritual Seed
Monday: September 12, 2016
Message of the Day
You can read all the manuals on prayer and listen to other people pray, but until you begin to pray yourself you will never understand prayer. It’s like riding a bicycle or swimming: You learn by doing.
.. Luis Palau

(What have you learned from praying, lately?)
Readings of the Day
1 COR 11:17-26, 33   PS 40:7-8A, 8B-9, 10, 17   

LK 7:1-10

When Jesus had finished all his words to the people,
he entered Capernaum.
A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die,
and he was valuable to him.
When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him,
asking him to come and save the life of his slave.
They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying,
“He deserves to have you do this for him,
for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.”
And Jesus went with them,
but when he was only a short distance from the house,
the centurion sent friends to tell him,
“Lord, do not trouble yourself,
for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.
Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you;
but say the word and let my servant be healed.
For I too am a person 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 at him
and, turning, said to the crowd following him,
“I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
When the messengers returned to the house,
they found the slave in good health.
Reflection on the Scripture
The centurion who approached Jesus was not only courageous, but faith-filled as well. He risked the ridicule of his Roman companions by seeking help from a Jewish preacher from Galilee, as well as mockery from the Jews who despised Roman occupation of their land. Nonetheless, this centurion approached Jesus with confidence and humility. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) notes that the centurion regarded himself as unworthy to receive the Lord into his house: "Humility was the door through which the Lord entered to take full possession of one whom he already possessed." The centurion was an extraordinary man because he loved his slave. In the Roman world slaves were treated like animals rather than people. The centurion was also an extraordinary man of faith. He believed that  Jesus had the power to heal his beloved slave. Jesus commends him for his faith and immediately grants him his request.

Are you willing to suffer ridicule in the practice of your faith? And when you need help, do you approach the Lord Jesus confidently with expectant faith?

"Lord Jesus you came to set us free from the tyranny of sin, selfishness, and fear. Increase my faith in the power of your saving word and give me joy and freedom to love and serve others generously for their sake just as you have generously laid down your life for my sake."

- dailyscripture.net

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Spiritual Reading
Theological Gems from Emile Merch's Theology of the Mystical Body
- selected by Jim and Tyra Arraj

Book III: Christ
 
Chapter 11: Nature of the Redemption

317. Christ took to Himself miseries, sufferings and human death; and behold, they are divinized in Him.