Much of what our Lord Jesus did made others marvel. The
disciples marveled when he calmed the storm with a word, and when he withered
the fig tree. The people marveled when he cast out demons, and healed the sick.
Even his enemies marveled when he avoided their traps with a clear and powerful
answer.
But only once in the Gospels do we ever read that Jesus marveled—and this is that text. “When
Jesus heard
Note first, that
the centurion didn’t ask for himself. He was concerned about others…in this
case, for his slave. Slaves had no status in Roman Israel. They were
expendable, replaceable. But still the centurion cared for him.
And not only for him! We read in Luke’s account that
Jewish elders approached Jesus on behalf of the centurion. They told the Lord,
“He is worthy for you to heal his servant. He loves our people, and built us a
synagogue.”
How refreshingly different from our culture’s self-absorption
and victim mentality! Last year I read the book, “I’m Proud of You,” the story
of Fred Rogers’ friendship with a Dallas sportswriter. The man’s life was
turned upside down because he found in Mr. Rogers a person who was genuinely
concerned about him. Friendship, for Fred Rogers, was about the other person. How about for us?
When I focus on “me,” it only makes life harder. None of
us lives to himself, St. Paul reminds us. When we turn our attention to our self,
we miss the mark God sets for us. We sin. We can learn from the centurion. When
we focus on others, and their needs, we find God’s deepest will for us. By
losing myself, I find myself.
Earlier I mentioned that the
Jewish elders told Christ that the centurion was worthy. And that’s the second thing about him. When the topic turned to
himself, the centurion could only say, “I am not worthy.”
We live in a culture of victimhood. I am a victim when I
think I’ve not been treated as well as I think I deserve. That leads to anger,
and pain, and more hurt. It leads to nothing good.
How much better to acquire true humility! True humility
doesn’t come from comparing myself to others. True humility comes from
comparing myself to God. When the words “I am not worthy” are spoken from the
heart, it’s a clear sign we’re drawing near to God. Remember when St. Peter
caught the great shoal of fish at Jesus’ word, he fell at his feet and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” And when St. John, when he was
old, saw the Lord Jesus, he tells us, “I fell at his feet as though dead.” When
we pray, let us draw near to God in firm faith, because of who he is; and with deepest humility,
because of who we are. “Lord, I am
not worthy.”
True humility confesses an
infinite gap between God and me. But firm faith confesses that God has bridged
that gap in Christ…and that’s the third
thing about the centurion’s words. He believed that Christ could act without needing
to come to his house.
There’s
an interesting comment made by one of the fathers on the Lord’s response, “Not
in Israel have I found such faith.” Israel, as you know, was the other name for
Jacob. In the Old Testament, when God appeared to Jacob at Bethel, Jacob said,
“This is the house of God.” Jacob
understood that God could appear at one
place. But the centurion understood
that Christ is everywhere present,
and able to act by his word alone.
So
come to him now, as he comes to you in his life-giving flesh and blood. Bring
him the needs that press so hard on you—especially the needs of others. Lay
aside your anger, your bitterness, that victim mentality that blocks his love.
Come to him as you are, humble, unworthy of his mercy. Come to him with great
faith, trusting that he who made all things from nothing can surely grant more
than you could ever ask or think. And he
will work all things together for his glory and our good, who love him because
he first loved us; in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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