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Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, "for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue." Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, "I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!" And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.
Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother. Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen up among us"; and, "God has visited His people." And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.
- Luke 7:1-17
In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued (and concluded) what is known as the Sermon on the Plain in Luke's Gospel. It bears resemblance to the Sermon on the Mount, which we find in Matthew's Gospel. We began reading the Sermon on the Plain Tuesday (Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God), continued Wednesday (But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies), and concluded yesterday, beginning with a parable given by Jesus: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall to the ditch? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye. For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently, and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."
Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. The first thing that we notice about this centurion is his great compassion. He feels love for his servant. Secondly, there is his humility. Perhaps as a centurion, he understands rank and order, and as an officer with command under the Roman empire, he also understands diplomacy. For whatever reason, he goes not directly to Jesus (whom he could theoretically command, as a person under colonial occupation), but sends instead the Jewish elders to plead with Jesus. This is a sign of respect for Jesus and also for the elders who are the religious authorities.
And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, "for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue." Here is another testimony to the character of the centurion. It's a literal testimony to his character, from the elders. As a colonial officer, he has kept the local people in good care. My study bible points out his love for the Jewish people.
Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You." Here we make another observation about the centurion and that is the character of humility he displays here, saying that he wasn't worthy to have Jesus enter under his roof. It is a sign of great respect for Jesus. Even from afar, his consideration of Jesus is one that reflects respect for His holiness. In addition, there is His consideration: He doesn't want to trouble Jesus more than is necessary.
"Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." A man of rank understands the authority of Christ in His holiness, and has complete faith in Jesus' power to work miracles of healing through His command, His word.
When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, "I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!" And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick. Christ Himself pronounces the greatness of this centurion and his character: his faith is tremendous.
Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. To understand this story, we must understand the position of a widow who has just lost her only son. It doesn't just mean destitution and loss of support; it means she's lost what gives her identity in community in some sense. We take it for granted that she loves her son. There is a large crowd with her, sharing her grief.
When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother. Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen up among us"; and, "God has visited His people." And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region. My study bible points out that this account is reported only by Luke. It shows Jesus' deep compassion, and effects of compassion in His ministry. All things Jesus does are for the glory of God, but He's moved by compassion, a sign of the character of love and mercy. My study bible also points out that there are several acts of "resuscitation" in the Gospels, pointing out the difference between this and true resurrection. These people live but will eventually die again physically. It says, "They were brought back to life, but would eventually die again physically. Nevertheless their new life manifests Christ's divinity, and gives assurance of His Resurrection and ours, a transformation to glory." It adds, "Through the three miraculous resurrections performed by Jesus -- the son of the widow of Nain, Jairus's daughter (Luke 8:41-56), and Lazarus (John 11:1-44) -- God is glorified. In the glorification of the Father through these incidents, the Son of God is Himself glorified. In raising these who were dead, though they would return to death one day, Christ shows forth His divinity and gives assurance to all who believe of His Resurrection and ours."
In today's reading, the lectionary couples two miracles, teaching us many things. We learn of Christ's power to work from afar, through faith which is also "from afar." We learn of Christ's power over life and death, something that we can only attribute to God, to the Lord. Both incidents can be called "healing" miracles, restoring human beings to full health, even from death. But there is more that we learn and are taught through these miracles today, and that is about character. It is filled with instruction in what we admire about character in the Gospel tradition. The qualities of the centurion are many and we elaborated through the commentary above. The centurion is compassionate, he is humble, he has love for the Jewish people although he is in rank a commander of the Roman military - the colonial power, he is considerate. And perhaps above all, he has great faith. All these are qualities then that we should seek to emulate, and they speak tremendously not only about this man, the centurion, but about what we admire in men or women of power and rank -- even worldly power and rank. They give us qualities to which to aspire. There is more here as well and that is the respect the centurion as for truth: nothing stops his recognition of Christ's holiness, nor the value of the Jewish spiritual heritage. As a commander, he's interested in the real facts and not whitewashed nor vainglorious proclamations about himself nor about life. The "fact" of Jesus' holiness and what that requires and asks is yet one more truth that he regards in his assessment, conduct and choices. He uses his rank and authority, even his power of command, to the purposes which truth discloses -- and in the proper way of relationship in the community, as truth also would teach. And then we turn to the incident of the widow of Nain. In this example of character, we turn to the character and leadership of Jesus. He is guided by His compassion. Jesus is a different kind of commander, His power is of a different order than a worldly army, and yet there is something that is characteristic and noted in this story which He shares with the centurion: and that is His capacity for compassion. Couple this also with His clear assessment of truth regarding the widow and her circumstances. Taken altogether, these stories in Luke give us a clear picture of character traits to which we, too, must aspire. There is no abuse of power here, nor is there any use of power which is not righteous. Nothing here is personal in the sense of being an extension of someone's self-aggrandizement. Rather, the power that is used here is used through compassion, on behalf of those who suffer. The centurion gives us an example of a worldly sort of ruler who is able to use his power for the good of those under him, be they his servants or the local Jewish people represented by the elders of the synagogue. Christ is here in His compassion to give us life in abundance; He who is Lord of lords and King of kings specializes in the character of compassion: and we must note here that compassion is part of the character of those who discern the truth, wherever they may be. Let us go forward thinking about these examples, and the great things they show us that human beings are capable of building and expressing in their lives. Jesus has just finished a great Sermon of discipleship in our past three readings. Here in today's reading, we are given examples of what it is to live in ways that faith teaches. Let us note that to be great in this kingdom is not to "lord it over" others! True leadership is something quite different in the teaching of the Gospel. Abusive behavior therefore may be sign of lack of true faith. Let us go forward and understand how we are to live in our world, what character to embody, and how to use all the things we have at our disposal -- especially in our relationships to those around us. Great power is not necessary to display these character traits: but compassion, a love of truth, discernment, and faith will get us there.
