There is an old Latin Proverb that speaks about our capacity to receive things and knowledge; “Quidquid recipitur ad modum recipientis recipitur: Whatever is received is received according to the manner of the receiver. When a noodle is received from a neighbor and transferred to an unclean plate, one cannot savor the noodle fully, as the noodle becomes contaminated. When an information is passed to device incapable of processing it, one cannot fully access the information (e.g. Mac file to a Microsoft powered computer). When a non-Spanish speaker or reader reads a beautiful Spanish poem, the rhyme in the stanzas are unappreciated. In other words: We receive things not as they are but as we are.
In the gospel (Lk 7:1-10), a centurion received Jesus in great humility and faith. As Jesus was going to his house to heal his ill servant, the centurion sent words to Him: Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. Those profound words of the centurion expressed faith in Jesus, his acknowledgement of his own unworthiness, and charity towards his ill servant. Such manner of receiving Jesus merited admiration from Jesus, moving Him to say: Not even in Israel have I found such faith. Even without Jesus actually going in the centurion's house, the ill slave of the centurion earned healing. The slave was found in good health upon the return of the messengers to the house of the centurion. The centurion and his ill slave earned the grace of healing from Jesus, as the centurion received Jesus in a manner proper to Him: with faith, humility, and charity.
The Corinthians (1 Cor 11:17-26, 33) on the other hand, even after hearing the Word of God from Paul, and seated at the table of the Eucharist failed to experience the fullness of God's grace. They have not benefitted fully from the precious gifts Paul delivered to them, as they were ill disposed to accept such gifts, and consequently failed to profit from them. There were divisions and factions among them as they meet as a Church. Charity was lacking in the fellowship, as there were those who go hungry while other got drunk. The Eucharist they celebrated did not become a proclamation of the death and love of the Lord, if not a mockery to the message of the Lord's Supper.
We receive Jesus, through the words proclaimed before us, and through His body and blood given to us. Do we benefit wholly from these? Our disposition necessarily points on how we benefit from the fruits of the sacraments we receive. Thus, a more significant question to answer is, how do we receive them; how do we receive Jesus in our life?
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