Posts
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 taught a parable, as He finished His Sermon on the Plain (which began with Tuesday's reading): "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into 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. But 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 floor 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. 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. My study bible says that this centurion, who is a Roman Gentile, is unusual in his devotion to the Jews. A note tells us that his characteristics are notable: compassion, love for God and His people, humility, and great faith. We notice the reverence with which this commander treats Jesus, as if He is truly Lord: he sends elders fro the town to meet Him, as a sort of diplomatic gesture of great protocol. They tell Jesus of the gift of the synagogue. He even says that he "is not worthy" to meet Christ himself. This story is an important one to the Gospels (repeated in Matthew, and a similar but not explicitly exact account appears in John). But the centurion here in his actions expresses the idea that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. He also has perfect faith in Jesus' power, even His power to command. Jesus has just chosen the Twelve (Tuesday's reading) and also preached the Sermon on the Plain, the message that will go to all the world. Here in this story immediately following, we see a supreme example of faith in this representative of the Roman Empire.
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. My study bible tells us that this is one of three resurrections performed by Christ as recorded in the Gospels (see also 8:41-56; John 11:1-44). It says, "They confirm the promise given to the prophet Ezekiel that God will one day open the graves and raise all the dead (Ezekiel 37:1-14). Many people have exercised authority over the living; only the Son of God 'has power over the living and the dead.' . . . While Christ has power through His word alone (John 11:43), here He also touched the coffin to show that His very body is life-giving. This even also prefigures Christ's own Resurrection." Ambrose of Milan teaches that as Mary would weep for Jesus at the Cross, yet her tears would be turned to joy by the Resurrection, here a widow's only son is raised from the dead, putting an end to her weeping.
We've just finished reading through the Sermon on the Plain (similar in content to the Sermon on the Mount, although not as extensive); see the readings from Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. In His preaching, Jesus has taught the power and value of humility, of loving one's enemies, and the importance of looking to our own internal flaws rather than projecting upon others. Just before preaching this sermon to a great gathering of followers and disciples and those who came to be healed from all over Israel, Judea, Jerusalem, Galilee, and even Gentile regions, He chose the twelve apostles. And in His first encounter after these actions, He meets with a great representative, a centurion, of the Roman Empire. This is a man about whom Jesus pronounces that He has not found such great faith, not even in Israel. The message is powerful: that even a man such as this, a man of the Roman Empire who commands legionnaires beneath him, can be a great example of the faith of Christ. One need not be literally poor to be poor in spirit. He has just finished preaching the "Woes" of this Sermon on the Plain, which are not found so easily in the Sermon on the Mount (again, see Thursday's reading). "Woe," he said, "to you who are rich, "for you have received your consolation." Well, no doubt this centurion has access to great wealth -- even greater, should he use his authority for personal gain in a corrupt way. Certainly this would not be at all unheard of in this time and place. But instead, what we learn about the centurion is his great faith, and great faith leads to great acts: he cares for his servant, he respects Jesus as Lord, he has built the community a synagogue. The great lesson here is the power of faith and its transformational effects on all of us, any of us. We contrast this with the poor widow of Nain. We really have to understand her destitution and the nature of what has happened to her. While the whole community mourns with her as they head outside the gates of the city (the dead could not be buried inside the city), we have to understand how a widow in such times would be left completely dependent on extended relations with no son to help her. She's not only bereft of the one person left in the world that she loves, she's in for a very uncertain and hard future. She is truly one of the "poor" and she needs comfort. Here, as in other stories of resurrection in the Gospels, Jesus shows His great compassion, His capacity for comfort. She as poor widow with no one left in the world to give her any sort of social status -- a complete, absolute contrast with the highly honored and respected centurion -- is the recipient of His compassion and grace, in one of the more astounding miracles of the Gospels. This is God's love and compassion for us at work. In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus also taught, "Blessed are you who weep now for you shall laugh." Rather than carrying her dead son outside of the city, outside of community, community and life is restored to this widow. Jesus preaches His sermon, His teachings, and immediately we are given visions of love in action, of the God-man we know as Christ who teaches by what He does. There's a powerful comment on this passage, given by Fr. Lev Gillet, who has written a book on the Jesus prayer under the pseudonym "A Monk of the Eastern Church." Fr. Lev teaches that Jesus does not perform miracles as proofs, in order to create faith in people. Instead, miracles come from compassion, from grace. He doesn't need to prove to anyone He is Messiah. We see His motivation here, and it is out of love. Love as Creator, as Son of the Father, as the One who also comforts us. This is the attribute of God -- which we are taught also to share. Faith should lead us to this kind of love, as it does the centurion who loves the people among whom he lives and rules. Jesus has preached about rich and poor, but in today's reading we are truly taught about what it means to be rich and poor, and that no one is left out of God's love. Faith leads the way to our understanding of God's power and love. Humility gives us the capacity to understand how to proceed in that faith. God is the God of love, and our capacity for faith is to share and extend that love.
