Luke
7:1-10
As
I am trying to figure out what to do with this passage, I cannot help but get
caught up in the societal inequities that are in place. The passage is
ultimately about a Roman Centurion and a slave. The first being the physical
manifestation of what it means for a country to be conquered and occupied. The
Centurion was an Officer in the Roman army, which was serving as a peacekeeping
force stationed in the region to keep the popular in order. He was an active
emblem of the oppression of the Jewish people at the hands of the Romans. But
not only that but the person in need of healing here, is his slave. Now we can
parse the difference between the ancient Middle Eastern slave system in
comparison to the chattel slavery of 16th-18th centuries in Europe and the US.
But when we speak of slaves in the Roman Empire and its Providences, we are
still speaking of person who is at the bottom of society, the person with the
least ability to speak or act for him/herself. This is especially so since this
person is powerless to do anything in the face of the deadly illness with which
he is inflicted.
So the two people we have to deal with
are in and of themselves problematic. What do we with do with a Biblical story
where our "Hero" is a willing participant in a in an oppressive
system in not just one way sited by the text, but in two ways? He is not only a member of the occupying
forces of an oppressive regime but is also participating the oppression found
in slavery of any form.
And as easy as it is to say that we
cannot hold ancient people accountable to our modern sensibilities, we cannot
look at a passage like this without naming the injustices in the system at
hand. Especially since the passage highlights concepts of power and authority.
So although we can see the inherent
issues this centurion’s position of power and authority have for the modern reader,
he is none-the-less the "Hero" of our story. In his day and time, he
is working to break down the barriers of his society, using his power and
authority to benefit the people of God and to speak up on behalf of one who has
no power and no voice in his cultural context. So although we may not be able
to see the justice in this situation this man is bringing justice in the ways
he know how and the ways in which he is able. He is doing his best to bring
rightness to a situation in which there might otherwise be none; an ordinary
person doing what he can, using the ways and means available to him to bring
change in his world.
If
we were following story of Jesus’ life and ministry as found in the book of
Luke we would begin to notice several themes laid out for us. Things which Luke
wants us to know about Jesus and his ministry here on earth. One of those
themes would be the gentle opening of the Gospel, to all humanity. Luke is
always careful to let us know that the salvation Jesus brings is for everyone,
not just the Jews, not just the righteous, not just those who are deemed worthy
by society but everyone, great and small, Jew and gentile. The theme begins,
not so very subtly, I might add, at the very beginning of the book when Simeon
the prophet takes Jesus in his arm and boldly declared Jesus to be, “a light
for revelation to the Gentiles.” It
continues with John the Baptist declaring that through Jesus, “All flesh will
see the salvation of God.”
This
is the first passage in which a Gentile is presented in a favorable light. Throughout
the rest Luke’s gospel, we can see a theme of Jesus working to expand his reach
of his ministry to all humans no matter who they are, rich or poor, righteous
or unrighteous, Jew or Gentile. Jesus is an equal opportunity Savior, his
salvation is for ANY and ALL who would come to him.
It
is interesting to note that the Centurion actually never “comes” to Jesus. He
begins by sending a group of Jewish elders to Jesus. As I mentioned before,
Jesus has been previously received favorably in this town. For those of who
have are familiar with the varying stories and episodes of Jesus’ life as found
in the Gospels, we are not accustomed to the people in authority in any town or
region, whether they be the elders, or the teachers of the Law, or the
Sanhedrin, coming to Jesus with favorable words or intent. But here in
Capernaum, Jesus is so well received that even the leaders and the elders think
favorably of him. This is quite a phenomenal town; we should not be surprised
that our Centurion is also quite amazing.
He
is quite an interesting person. Since, we are not a part of Luke’s original audience;
we entirely miss something this passage is telling us about this Centurion that
is hinted at and between the lines. Beginning with God’s promise with Abraham
that through him all nations would be blessed, it was always God’s intent that
through the chosen people of Israel, others would come to believe. Whether the
people of God did so intentionally or not is a question for another day, but
whatever their intent there were always people who encountered the God of the
Jews and through them and God’s work in and through them, they came to believe
in God. Some of these believers would then choose to do all that was necessary
to become a Jew. These people were commonly known as proselytes. There were
others who believed in God, but when faced with the realities of all that it
entailed to actually become a Jew,
were unable to make the cut (so to speak). These people were known as
God-fearers. The centurion with his good report with the Jewish elders and
apparent concern with Jewish purity laws, working to dissuade Jesus from
entering the house of not only a Gentile, and also encountering the diseased
man who is near to death, is most definitely a God-fearer.
But
it is his God-fearing piety which highlights the faith for which Jesus
ultimately praises him. When he sees that Jesus is approaching his house he
sends out his friends telling Jesus to merely speak the word and the slave will
be healed. He makes a very interesting argument actually. He explains that he
understand his own authority, if he wants something done, he calls one over
whom he has authority to him, and commands the thing to be done and the person
will then go carry out his will. Jesus, having greater authority than the
centurion, need only speak the word and his will is accomplished. This man
truly believes in Jesus Christ and has an astute understanding of Jesus’
authority in this world.
The
passage ends with Jesus praising this man to the crowd that has gathered. Jesus
does not praise him for his generosity, his humility, or his consideration or
even his astute understanding, all which are exemplified in this passage; no instead,
Jesus praises him for his faith. Although, the way the passage is presented we
are to understand that it is precisely because of his generosity, humility, his
consideration of others, AND his astute understand of Jesus Christ highlight
his great faith.
It
would be easy to simply see that his understanding that Jesus does not need to
physically come into the house, to see and touch the sick slave for the slave
to be healed. It would be easy to simplify this man’s faith down his expression
of trust in Jesus ability to heal from afar, but it is more than that. Jesus
praises this man’s faith because of all the things we learn about him in this
passage.
He
is generous. He uses his wealth to better the people of God. He see they need a
synagogue and since he has the money he generously gives to the community of
faith to which we belongs so that they might have a place to gather, to learn and to worship. He is renowned in
the community because of his generosity. But is it more than money, it more
than his financial assistance. His generosity is also cited as love. He loves
the people of God. He has given generously not only of his means but of himself
so much so that he is declared to love the people of God.
What
a wonderful thing to be accused of; to love the people of God! When others look
at your life and the things, you have done, your actions and your words, would
they declare, “This person LOVES the people of God. Not just for it to be said
that you love God, because it is implied in the statement (one of the ways we
know this man to be a God fearer is because
they declare that he loves God’s people) but to be known to love the people of
God, without addendum, without clarification, but simply and beautifully to be
love the people God loves! What a way
for one’s faith to be known.
This
then leads us to see his consideration of others. This whole encounter occurs
because he deeply cares for his slave, so much so that he does when he hears
that Jesus is in town, he immediately seeks Jesus out. The text tells us that
this whole affair happens as soon as he entered this town this man’s
consideration and concern for his slave is apparent. But his consideration for
others is also seen in how he preemptively works to keep Jesus from actually
participating in any activity that would make him unclean. He sends Jewish
people to approach Jesus and make his request. And then he further shows
concern by stopping Jesus defiles himself by entering his house. The centurion
is actively working to put the needs and concerns of others above his own. He
is considerate of their feelings of their beliefs, of what would be an
inconvenience to them. He is constantly working to further show his love
through his consideration of those around him and those who might encounter
him.
But
there is more, this man’s faith is also made manifest in his humility and his
understanding. Even more so in how he comes humbly to Jesus even as he
completely understands Jesus’ power and authority. The whole way he approaches
(or doesn’t approach) Jesus expresses his humility. He knows who he is in
relation to Jesus. This is a man who is used to authority and being on the top.
He orders troops around and orders slaves around, but he also knows his place. He
knows that Jesus is greater than him. He knows that he does not have a right to
approach the Jewish teacher.
He
also knows, understands and accepts that Jesus has more power and more
authority than he does. He expresses this understanding when he declares that
Jesus need only say the word and his slave will be healed. He knows that Jesus
has the power and authority to heal and to heal from afar, that Jesus is no
bound by touch or proximity. He also understands that Jesus is under no
obligation to hear or carry out anything which the he asks of Jesus. He asks,
humbly and expressing his understanding of his place before Jesus and Jesus
heals his slave.
This
is a hard thing for us sometimes. We think we deserve things. We have a
right! We like to declare it loud and
vehemently. But faith lived out is not only considerate of others putting them
first, working to give voice to their concerns but it is humble realizing that
we do not have a “right” to God, we do not “deserve” anything which God gives
to us. Humble faith comes to God knowing and understanding God’s authority and
power but also knowing and understanding that God is under no obligation to
give us our request, all the things God gives to us, all the blessings, all the
good things, all the wonderful things, we receive from God, are not our right,
we do not deserve then God give them to us out of God’s goodness. Faith in
exemplified by knowing God can, not demanding that God will; faith is seen in
humility as well as understanding.
None
of us would argue that it is by faith that we are saved. It is by faith we come
to Jesus. But often times we just throw out the word without really thinking
about what it means. What it looks like to live a life of faith. But hear in
these ten short verses we have an excellent example of what faith lived out
looks life. We see a centurion man who is generous and considerate, we see a
man who is humble and has understanding of who Jesus is and what Jesus can do
for him. We see a man who gives, of himself for the betterment of others, who
thinks about how his actions affect those around then and works to create a
situation where all are respected and their needs are accounted for. And not
only does he understand who Jesus is and what Jesus can do, but he also knows
who he is in relation to Jesus and displays his humility and his understanding
through his thoughts and his words.
His
actions and words not only display his understanding of Jesus but also his
humility. He lives out his humility throughout this passage never over stepping
never demanding or requesting more than he should. He clearly understands who
Jesus is and who he is relationship to Jesus.
It
is interesting that we often think about faith as something that happens in our
head. It is a believe, something that goes on in our intellect but this man is
praised for his faith because of his
actions, because of his words, because of how he lives and moves in relation to
those around him. Faith is something that expresses itself in our lives. When
we are generous people who love God and love the people whom God loves, that is
seen in how we live, in how we speak. It is seen in how we talk about and act
around others. We tell our children to be kind and considerate without thinking
that what we are trying to instill in them that very actions of faith lived
out.
