A Centurion Faith

Daily Reflection for Friday July 6, 2014

Matthew 8:5-13

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 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. 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.”  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.  I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 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.

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"Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith."

Really? Between all of the Apostles, all the religious leaders, people he has healed, no one's faith was equal to the centurion's who presumably wasn't even a religious man?  At first blush that seems far fetched.  However, a closer look might reveal why.

Firstly, the centurion's faith was simple: it was, unlike say, the religious leaders' faith; uncomplicated and free from required accretions.  Certainly there are some basic beliefs to the Christian faith, but at the same time we can have dogmas without being dogmatic about everything.  In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas.  In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity (love).   Jesus responds to simple faith.

Second, and obliquely related to the above, the centurion's faith was humble.  "I am not worth to have you come under my roof..." We often pray for precisely the same thing that the centurion was asking for, health for ourselves or others, or for our or others' needs.  Unfortunately, we often arrogantly pray in such a way that it seems we are dictating to God what it is he should do.  

The Scriptures say, we do not know how to pray as we ought (Romans 8:26). Many other translations of this text say even more emphatically:We do not know what we ought to pray for. Yes, it is true, and yet we are often so sure of what is best for us, or best for others. But what we find the desirable outcome is not necessarily the best outcome. And this insight requires of us great humility. We see so little and understand even less. When we ask for some outcome, and it is not wrong to do so, we need to ask humbly. God alone knows the best answer and when to answer. This is humility.

Thirdly, the centurion trusted God's power to affect change in response to supplication.  The centurion believed that all Jesus had to do was "say the word."  This kind of wonder-working faith is needed by all of us, not just faith in the existence of God.  Many people believe in the existence of a deity but he many believe in the possibility of miracles?  That God is open to possibilities rather than to a fixed, predetermined fate?

Let us ask The Lord for an increase in this simple, humble, believing and expectant faith.

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