In the past, if something broke, you would try to fix it. Today, most times we replace a broken object. My grandfather was a shoemaker; he made and fixed shoes. Now, I don’t see any shoemakers around. You previously would have fixed a broken TV, a torn jacket, you would repair a broken chair, or a watch. Those things had value and would last for a long time if you took good care of them. But today is different, and most times people just replace these kinds of items – they buy a new one. I am thinking about the reading from the gospel for today. You see that a centurion came to Jesus, begging Him to heal his dying slave. A slave? A centurion was a high-ranking commander in the army, a powerful and rich man, so he could easily get rid of that sick and useless slave and replace him with five others -- but he didn’t. Because he cared, he saw in that slave a human person, a neighbor, someone that needed his help. So, he goes and begs Jesus for help. His friends were probably laughing at him, but he didn’t care. He knew that he needed Jesus. We have so much to learn from that centurion. He knew the value of human life; he showed us what it means to love our neighbor and who is our neighbor. Others would replace that slave; he wanted him to get well.
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