WHEN POWERS MEET

Monday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time
Lk7:1-10

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. But when those who are powerful are not only faith-filled, but humble as well, greater things are bound to happen. 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 the first cause 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 more sick and sick and sick. Will the nation die? But what makes them meet in the first place? Let us heed the advice of Paul to Timothy today (1 Tim 2:1-8). We, too, are in power. Let us meet all powers with prayer.