Sunday, July 27, 2003
A Moment to Praise Heroic Faith
As he entered Caper'na-um, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress."
And he said to him, "I will come and heal him."
But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,' and he goes, and to another, `Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,' and he does it."
When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."
And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; be it done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment.
Matthew 8:5-13 RSV
Taking a moment away from the model of action that Mother Teresa provides, I thought I would discuss this passage, which jumped up at me this morning as I was doing my morning Bible reading.
This unnamed centaurion is an interesting person. We don't know a whole lot about him. In St. Luke's version of the story, he doesn't even come himself; afraid perhaps of ritually polluting Christ, or abashed at his own unworthiness. We know he was a God fearer, one of those gentiles who found the teachings of the God of Israel attractive, and who practiced in part, but who didn't convert fully to Judaism. This man had contributed to the building of one of the synagogues at Caperneum, and had elders from there come and vouch for his worthiness.
But what is the most striking about this man is his absolute faith. He is obviously not craving signs and wonders, demanding that Jesus prove who he is by acting in a miraculous manner. No, he has a sick slave who he values greatly, and who has had something perhaps like a stroke. He doesn't expect Jesus to come rushing into a house of a gentile (and possibly conceived of as an enemy, to boot, since he is part of the occupying army) and risk being polluted. There is no need for ritual or spectacle.
It is enough for him that he is given word that it will be done.
This centaurion has the most absolutely rock solid faith, or perhaps he has learned to expect great things from God. Just like when he gives an order to one of his soldiers, or commands one of his slaves, and expects the order to be done, he knows that if Jesus gives the order, then God will make sure that it is done.
We don't know if he belived that Jesus was the Messiah, but we know he absolutely believes he is from God.
Heroic faith. And to this day, we honor his memory, in our words at communion: "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you" - a fitting tribute to one whose faith could amaze Jesus!
As he entered Caper'na-um, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress."
And he said to him, "I will come and heal him."
But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,' and he goes, and to another, `Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,' and he does it."
When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."
And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; be it done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment.
Matthew 8:5-13 RSV
Taking a moment away from the model of action that Mother Teresa provides, I thought I would discuss this passage, which jumped up at me this morning as I was doing my morning Bible reading.
This unnamed centaurion is an interesting person. We don't know a whole lot about him. In St. Luke's version of the story, he doesn't even come himself; afraid perhaps of ritually polluting Christ, or abashed at his own unworthiness. We know he was a God fearer, one of those gentiles who found the teachings of the God of Israel attractive, and who practiced in part, but who didn't convert fully to Judaism. This man had contributed to the building of one of the synagogues at Caperneum, and had elders from there come and vouch for his worthiness.
But what is the most striking about this man is his absolute faith. He is obviously not craving signs and wonders, demanding that Jesus prove who he is by acting in a miraculous manner. No, he has a sick slave who he values greatly, and who has had something perhaps like a stroke. He doesn't expect Jesus to come rushing into a house of a gentile (and possibly conceived of as an enemy, to boot, since he is part of the occupying army) and risk being polluted. There is no need for ritual or spectacle.
It is enough for him that he is given word that it will be done.
This centaurion has the most absolutely rock solid faith, or perhaps he has learned to expect great things from God. Just like when he gives an order to one of his soldiers, or commands one of his slaves, and expects the order to be done, he knows that if Jesus gives the order, then God will make sure that it is done.
We don't know if he belived that Jesus was the Messiah, but we know he absolutely believes he is from God.
Heroic faith. And to this day, we honor his memory, in our words at communion: "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you" - a fitting tribute to one whose faith could amaze Jesus!
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