Matthew 8:5-11. The Capernaum Centurion. “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but say the word and my servant will be healed.”

His house was messy. Dishes all over, dirty clothes on the couch, blood-stained armor lying unscrubbed on the floor. His life was a mess. He didn’t deserve to have the holy one come into his house. He would have been embarrassed to have anyone come in and see what he was really like.

And yet, that was where Jesus wanted to go. He didn’t care if the guy’s house was a mess. He looked upon the heart of this soldier and he knew what it was like already. He wanted to come in anyway – to his house and to his heart – he didn’t care. Indeed, that was why he had stopped here. To set right his heart, cleanse his guilt, bring peace into the clutter and disorder.

Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof either, or anywhere near where I live, for I am a sinner too and my heart is filled with greed and guilt and fear and all sorts of turbulence. I would be embarrassed to have anyone see what you have seen in me. And yet, you do not turn away. You knock on my door, “let me in.”

Come in then, Jesus. I need your help. I command a hundred others but I cannot command my soul. Have mercy on me, Master. It’s a mess, but come in. Welcome.

2025/11/2025— Image generated with ChatGPT (OpenAI). Today’s Word from today’s daily mass reading. Other words by Tim Booth.