Amazed Grace!

Luke 7:9

When Jesus heard this He marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude that followed Him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”

It is shocking, when you think about it, that Jesus was “amazed” by the faith of the centurion.  It passes understanding how an omniscient God could be amazed by anything we can do or say.  Yet there it is: the faith of the centurion actually evoked wonder in our Lord.  Grace Himself was amazed.  How all that plays out in highly technical theologizing about the relationship between the humanity and deity of Christ is beyond mortals’ ken.  But it surely means one thing at least: when God humbled Himself to share in our humanity, He humbled Himself to share in the wonder of encountering us in all the mystery and unpredictability of the human person.  The centurion’s faith filled Him Who is the Wonder of the Incarnation with joyous wonder!  May our trust in Him give Him the same joy in the Holy Spirit!

Avatar photo

By

Mark P. Shea is a popular Catholic writer and speaker. The author of numerous books, his most recent work is The Work of Mercy (Servant) and The Heart of Catholic Prayer (Our Sunday Visitor). Mark contributes numerous articles to many magazines, including his popular column “Connecting the Dots” for the National Catholic Register. Mark is known nationally for his one minute “Words of Encouragement” on Catholic radio. He also maintains the Catholic and Enjoying It blog and regularly blogs for National Catholic Register. He lives in Washington state with his wife, Janet, and their four sons.

Subscribe to CE
(It's free)

Go to Catholic Exchange homepage

MENU