Lord, I am not worthy to have you under my roof; only say the word...Today we come across in the Gospel passage a set of words that we repeat each and every time that we gather for a Eucharistic celebration. They are words that were uttered by an individual who wanted a favor from Jesus and demonstrate a level of faith that amazed even Jesus himself. That they are included in such a central liturgical act of the Church speaks volumes about their weight and importance. Perhaps we have come to say the words as a matter of habit so much so that we have forgotten to say them as if we were saying them for the first time, or as if we were saying them with the centurion. These set of words carry so much weight that they shouldn't be said by one who doesn't mean them. For inasmuch as they come to us as a set of words that were uttered by an individual who was aware of his unworthiness and/or sinfulness, it is also true that they are a statement of faith.
We might not know the exact reason why the centurion was moved to utter the words. Perhaps it was out of the unselfish nature of the centurion. The centurion must have been aware of the great number of people who were also in need of Jesus’ services and didn’t want to take Jesus away from them. It can also have been the urgency of the matter. The centurion might have heard of the recent incident when Jesus arrived at Jairus’ house when it was too late (it took longer than usual for Jesus to get to Jairus’ house because of the many stops that Jesus made on the way). Perhaps the reason had to do with the centurion himself: if he was a non-Jew, it might be that he didn't want to be ridiculed by his peers for stooping so low as to ask the help of a Jewish rabbi. If he were a Jew, perhaps he didn't want to be ridiculed by fellow Jews for resorting to this roadside rabbi for help. Whatever the reason was, Jesus saw in him deep, trusting faith. He might not have subscribed to Jesus' religious ideals, but he knew that Jesus had the power to give him the help that he needed. That is what trusting faith evokes in a person. That is what our faith in Jesus should evoke in us.