As I was reading this Gospel yesterday in preparation for my homily, I found myself thinking about how bizarre of a reaction this was from Jesus. Here we have this royal official whose son was ill coming to the Lord. In his desperation, he sought Jesus’ intervention; he came to Jesus asking for His help. And I think it’s safe to say that this guy’s expectation was that Jesus would rush to the boy’s bedside and to offer a miraculous healing. Yet, Jesus responded differently. Instead of going to visit the child, Jesus simply speaks words of assurance, telling the official: “You may go; your son will live.”

Does that surprise anyone else? One could almost imagine what that royal official’s response was. Like, “are you being serious, Jesus? That’s all you’re going to do?!” Imagine the confusion, the feeling of abandonment, the hurt. But Jesus teaches this man and us something much deeper here.

This story gives us a profound truth about how God works in our lives sometimes…it teaches us a bit about His ways. We often come to God with these preconceived notions about who He is or what He should do for us; we expect specific outcomes. But God’s wisdom transcends, it goes beyond our own limited understanding. His responses may not always align with our immediate desires; but they always come from a place of love and always have a purpose.

In our journey of faith, one of the hardest lessons we have to learn is how to trust the Lord…how to trust in His sovereignty, even when His ways seem mysterious or contrary to our expectations. He sees the bigger picture and His plans are always for our ultimate good. Like the royal official, we are called to surrender our expectations at the feet of Jesus and to trust in His divine timing and wisdom.

God’s response to our requests, to our prayers may not always be what we anticipate, but it is always what we need. So today, let’s ask the Lord for the grace to be able to embrace that truth, to learn how to trust in His timing, to trust that He has our best interests at heart. Let’s put aside our preconceived notions about who He is and come to know who He truly is and rest in His love for us.

Image: Christ and the Centurion, Paolo Veronese. In the Toledo Museum of Art. Used under public domain license. Wikimedia Commons.