"Lord, I am not Worthy..."

There are many beautiful lines in the Mass, but one which has stood out to me consistently the past few years are the words that we as a congregation say right before the reception of the Eucharist. It must be particularly important, placed at such a time, focusing us on the moment of intimacy we are about to experience.

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“Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

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These words mirror the words of the centurion in the Gospel, begging Jesus to heal his paralyzed servant: “But the centurion answered Him, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.’” – Matthew 8:8

This passage reminds us of our unworthiness of the gift of the Eucharist. It reminds us of our unworthiness of God’s love and forgiveness. But through the gift of His forgiveness, we are made worthy of such an incomprehensible gift. There are countless insights to be made regarding this passage. However, for the sake of this reflection I’d like to focus on two simple words.

The Word.

Only say The Word, and my soul shall be healed.

At times, this line makes me chuckle. It reminds me of how we would use this phrase in our modern speech. “Just say the word.” It sounds very conversational. It implies that the one who is speaking will give the other something willingly and easily, all they must do is say the word. When I think about this is in the context of the Mass, I have frequently questioned, “What is this magical word which makes us worthy?” Please tell me I’m not alone in this.

But I believe there is another perspective.

Only say The Word.

It has always been accepted in Scripture that the Word implies more than just spoken words. Rather, the Word is Jesus Christ Himself. At the start of John’s Gospel we read: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” – John 1:1. The Word of God is Jesus.

When we proclaim, “only say the Word, and my soul shall be healed,” we can make an interesting connection. We remember Jesus as the Word. We remember that it was through Jesus, and through His passion, that we have received forgiveness. It was because of His cross that we have become worthy to receive the gift of Him. He loved us too much to remain separated from us. Because of Jesus, we are made worthy of being united to Jesus.

Because of the Word, we can receive the Word.

Jesus is the one who heals our souls.

He makes us worthy. He is enough.

Welcome the Guest under your roof.