Luke 7:6
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.
I remember when I got the news that some of the words at mass were going to changed. I was a little confused and worried. It had taken me a long time to learn those words. Why change them now? But change they did and this old dog learned new words. It's funny that even now I sometimes find myself accidentally slipping into the old words. But the words were changed for a reason, they have a deeper meaning than the old words.
Today we hear in the Gospel the words of the centurion that we speak at mass before receiving the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof… Do you remember the old words? Lord I am not worthy to receive you… I recently heard Msgr. James Vlaun from the USCCB talk about this. The phrase "under my roof" is like surprise company coming over. Whenever someone comes over unexpectedly there is always a scramble to tidy up. Having someone enter your home is a very personal action. They have the opportunity to see every part of your life. The good and the bad. Sometimes we don't want to invite Jesus under our roof. We want to keep him at a distance. Only have him visit us at church or when we are helping the poor. This change in perspective, inviting Jesus "under our roof" to abide with us, gives us the opportunity to take our faith to a deeper place. Take a look at your life today and find the places where you have kept Jesus from abiding. Open those areas of your life where Jesus has yet to enter. We may not be worthy to have Jesus under our roof, but that is where he desires to be.
