Readings: Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19; Psalm 74; Matthew 8:5-17
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today’s First Reading is taken from the Book of Lamentations, one of the most sorrowful books in the Bible. It was written in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 BC. King Nebuchadnezzar’s army had destroyed the city, burned Solomon’s Temple, broken down its walls, slaughtered many of its inhabitants, and led the survivors into exile. The beautiful city that once echoed with songs of worship had become a place of silence, hunger, tears, and death.
The author, traditionally believed to be the prophet Jeremiah, walks through the ruins of Jerusalem with a broken heart. He sees elderly people sitting in silence with dust on their heads, children fainting from hunger in the streets, mothers weeping, and the Temple lying in ashes. Yet Jeremiah makes something even more painful clear. This tragedy was the consequence of years of persistent disobedience, idolatry, injustice, and the people’s refusal to listen to God’s prophets. Even worse, many of the prophets had deceived the people with false promises of peace instead of calling them to repentance. They comforted people in their sins instead of leading them back to God.
Yet, despite all the devastation, Jeremiah offers one very profound piece of advice: “Cry aloud to the Lord… pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord” (Lamentations 2:18-19). When everything else had failed, prayer never fails. Their tears and pain became their prayer and offering to God.
In today’s Gospel, we meet a Roman centurion whose beloved servant was gravely ill. Faced with this painful situation, he did not despair or rely solely on his own authority. Instead, he ran to Jesus with profound humility and unwavering faith, a faith that astonished the Lord Himself. He entrusted both his servant and his situation to the mercy, goodness, and power of Christ, and he returned home with a new story, a story of healing, hope, and divine intervention.
The message for us is clear. Every family experiences moments of pain, disappointment, illness, loss, or uncertainty. In those moments, we have two choices. We can become bitter, complain, and drift away from God, or we can do what Jeremiah and the centurion teaches us today: turn our pain into prayer and place our complete trust in the Lord. When pain is placed in God’s hands, it becomes the beginning of healing, restoration, and hope.
The centurion’s words have become part of every Holy Mass just before Holy Communion: “Lord, I am not worthy… only say the word.” May we never utter those words mechanically. Rather, may they always be the sincere prayer of humble hearts that recognise their need for Christ. The Lord who restored the centurion’s servant is still able to restore broken hearts, wounded families, weakened faith, and every soul that approaches Him with humility and trust.
Sermon preached by Fr Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on June 27, 2026.