What happens when two powers meet?
Today two powers meet. One is Jesus. The other is a centurion. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. That is infinite power! A centurion has a hundred soldiers under his command. That is awesome power! Today, Jesus and a centurion meet.
A servant makes them meet today. The favorite servant of a centurion is sick and near death. The centurion sent emissaries to Jesus to request Him to heal and save his servant from death. A particular need makes the two powers meet.
When two powers meet because of a genuine call to service, the two powers do not collide. They heal and save life.
More than just a lesson on faith, exemplified by the centurion's belief in Jesus, the same Gospel is a lesson of humility. As faith is, so is humility a virtue for everyone, whether powerful or not. And when those who are powerful are not only faith-filled, but humble as well, greater things are bound to happen.
As I write this reflection, in our country today, powers do meet. But they do not heal and save life. They put the country down and stifle the life of all Filipinos. We have a president who struggles to remain in power but whose mandate will always be doubtful. She who promised for a strong republic has become one of the major causes of its weakening. We have an opposition block that brings the power-struggle to the streets. But the nation is already suffering from a "people's power" fatigue. As these two powers meet, the already sick nation gets even sicker. Will the nation die?
But what makes them meet in the first place?
Let us heed the advice of Paul to Timothy today (1 Timothy 2:1-8).
We, too, are in power. Let us meet all powers with prayer. - Fr. Bobby T. (Sabbath)
REFLECTION QUESTION:
What happens when powers meet depends on what motives bring them together.
All-powerful God, before You all powers bow down. There is no one more sovereign than You are. Grant us the virtue of humility and the gift of charity when we use the power You entrust to us. Help us empower the others by the same power You give us. May we follow the example of Your Son who, in His seemingly powerlessness on the cross, used the greatest of all powers to redeem us from sin and death and to make us You children, for He is our Lord now and forever. Amen.
St. Uni, bishop and missionary, pray for us.
