February 28, 2021
5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8 The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also 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 the slave does it.” 10 When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.
Family reunions are times when all parts of a family get together for a big celebration, often a BBQ. A friend of mine, in years before COVID, her family would gather in Michigan so that all the cousins and relatives can reconnect in the warmth of radiant summer sun on the lake. They spend a week together out on boat, sharing meals and telling family stories. Through this time together, each generation is welcomed into this rich family tradition. New spouses are embraced with open arms; babies are christened with family togetherness. Each one says, “I will come” as they return to the childhood home from the south, north and the west. This reunion week is a time of connection, rest, fun and strengthening bonds within this family. (I imagine many of us would like to be able to have our own family reunion. Hopefully, that will happen again soon.)
Last week, Jesus chose to make a leper clean, whole and well. Reminding us of our own brokenness, we too boldly ask Jesus for healing as Jesus takes on our infirmities. Through these healings Jesus was the fulfillment of the promised Messiah.
This week Jesus is again boldly approached for healing. This time by a centurion. A centurion was a Roman military officer who had authority over one hundred soldiers. As a Roman, he was a Gentile. And as a Roman soldier in Judea, he was there to maintain Roman power over the Jews. From the perspective of many Jews, Roman centurions were the very enemy that they expected the Messiah would come to overthrow. So Jesus saying “I will come” and cure your slave is shocking. Not only is the centurion the enemy, but a slave was also societies symbol of an outcast. A gentile slave was considered the ultimate nobody. Yet Jesus agrees to cure him. If we stop right there, we see a profound shift in priorities. Last week Jesus healed a Jewish leper within the context of their faith. But the very next healing account is Jesus helping a centurion by healing his paralyzed and distressed gentile slave. Jesus is helping the enemy and caring for the marginalized. Jesus is practicing what he preaches. He is willing to go the extra mile (Mt. 5:41). He loves His enemies (Mt. 5:43), and He greets those who are not His Jewish brothers (Mt. 5:47). No longer is Jesus here to only heal the Jews, Jesus is willing to heal all of humanity, expanding God’s family.
The rest of the account has the centurion powerfully speaking about authority and Jesus talking about faith and God’s kingdom. To speak about authority, you must have authority. That is why his telling rings so true. The military is grounded in authority and a master has authority over a slave. Yet it is the faith of the centurion to believe, know and trust that IF Jesus says the word, his slave will be healed. That Jesus has the authority to speak that healing into being. As one commentator wrote, “When Jesus healed the centurion’s servant, he did more than a miracle. He demonstrated for everyone something that the centurion had already recognized: Authority. More specifically, Jesus demonstrated that he possessed the absolute authority of God incarnate, the authority that only a Creator has over his creation” (Mike Nappa, Beliefnet.com).
Humbly the centurion did not want Jesus to come to his home, but he knew that Jesus’ authority rests beyond proximity. Jesus can heal him at a distance. When we pray for healing, when we ask Jesus to heal a friend around the corner or across the globe, we too trust that Jesus has the power to heal beyond proximity. Jesus does not have to be here to heal but does so by the divine power that abides in him, the absolute authority of God incarnate.
Jesus also demonstrated his authority to expand God’s kingdom. The Roman centurion and the Gentile slave were excluded from God’s kingdom. At least until Jesus arrived. When Jesus heard the centurion’s faith, he asserted his authority. When Jesus says, “Truly I tell you,” or “I tell you” Jesus is citing himself rather than keeping with the tradition of citing respected rabbis. He simply appealed to the Highest authority there was, which was Himself, which is why He often began His remarks with the phrase, “I say to you.” He is making a new teaching right then and there. Jews are not the only ones welcome in God’s kingdom. Jesus is tearing down false boundaries, the us and them mentality, the prejudices of the people of Israel. Not only is Jesus welcoming the marginalized, but he is also calling out the Jews who were listening. Jesus said of the centurion, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.” It seems like the disciples have faith enough to follow, but not faith in Jesus’ power to save. So I ask you, Where is your faith on that continuum? “Faith to follow” on one end, all the way to “faith to save?” Do you believe that Jesus can heal, can change, can draw a community together to save it? Do you believe that we have the power to work alongside of Jesus in that mission? How is Jesus calling us to heal humanity? Supporting the shower ministry is one way we heal our community, right here in Aptos. Thank you to those who volunteered yesterday. On a larger scale, I wonder what Jesus would think about the richest countries in the world buying up all the vaccines leaving the poorer countries out in the cold, without any doses? The US and Europe estimate being fully vaccinated by late 2021, while most of Africa will not be fully covered until 2023 and have virtually no vaccines at the moment, according to the BBC (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-56025355) Would Jesus be calling us out? Should we be trying to heal humanity?
Jesus turned upside down the Jewish belief that Jews held the exclusive favor of God when he spoke of people from around the world, from east and west sitting at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. God does not want to heal only some of the people. God welcomes all people who believe in his name to sit at his table. The centurion’s faith made that perfectly clear. As did Jesus healing the slave, the nobody in some people’s eyes.
Marcia McFee the creator of this worship series asks, “Do we have the strength and the boldness to approach Jesus directly, to appeal to Jesus on behalf of others? In what ways are we approaching Jesus? Do we believe that through Jesus, we can bring healing to our communities?” I hope the answer is yes.
As you know sea glass comes in many shapes and sizes, colors and variations in smoothness, yet when each piece is seen as precious and valued, then it will mirror how God wants all of humanity to be together. I borrowed this jar of sea glass from a friend, to show the diversity, the beauty of these broken fragments. And how when they are held together in this jar, it is like all of humanity held together in God’s love. Let us heal our communities and work for humanity’s wholeness in Christ’s name.
Jesus said, “I will come.”
Jesus tore down the barriers, establishing humanity’s wholeness.
Jesus re-envisioned and expanded the family of God. Jesus wants to create a family reunion for all of humanity. Not just some. Jesus wants us to see the value in every person, not just the ones who think and look like us. Jesus wants us to have enough faith to overcome the displacement in our society so that all people feel welcome. At God’s family reunion, we might not all fit on the boat on the lake, but God wants us all to have a seat at the table in God’s kingdom. Let us heal our communities and work for humanity’s wholeness in Christ’s name. Amen.
