But say the word, and my servant will be healed

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, in concluding His Sermon on the Plain, Jesus spoke a parable to the disciples:  "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 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.  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.   The Orthodox Study Bible comments that, this centurion, a Roman Gentile, is unusual in his devotion to the Jews.  His characteristics, it says, are notable.  First of all, there is his compassion for his servant, who was dear to him.  Then also he has a love for God and God's people, as the elders tell Jesus.  Although a Roman military commander, he has humility ("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").  Finally, he also has a great faith, as Jesus Himself testifies:  "I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"

 

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.  According to the Orthodox Study Bible, this is one of three resurrections performed by Christ as recorded in the Gospels (see also Luke 8:41-56; John 11:1-44).  They confirm the promise which was given to the prophet Ezekiel, that God will one day open the graves and raise all the dead (Ezekiel 37:1-14).  The Study Bible adds that many people have exercised authority over the living, but only the Son of God "has power over both the living and the dead" (as the Orthodox funeral service proclaims).  Notably, while Christ has power through His word alone (John 11:43), here He also touched the coffin, showing that His very body is life-giving.  Furthermore, according to St. Ambrose of Milan, this event prefigures Christ's own Resurrection.  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.  

 

The first thing we may observe about today's reading (as does my Study Bible) is the splendid character of the centurion.   A centurion was a Roman military officer who commanded a "century" (one hundred) of men.  They were the 'backbone' of the Roman Army, comparable to a modern captain or senior non-commissioned officer.  So this man's work was discipline; he was one who commanded and above all kept order within the ranks of the military.  But let us look more closely at his character.  As the Study Bible says,  he has compassion on his own servant, he loves the Jewish nation and has even built  a synagogue in Capernaum.  His humility is so remarkable that, although Jesus has no standing in the social hierarchy, with the exception of His by-now well-known teaching and healing, the centurion treats Jesus with the greatest respect.  He claims to be unworthy for Christ to set foot beneath his roof.  Moreover, he already recognizes the authority of Christ, for he compares Jesus to an officer who commands men beneath him, giving orders and using power.  This is something remarkable.  Perhaps we might say that, interestingly enough, it is the centurion's very life and experience that has shaped his capacity to recognize what he sees in Jesus that even Christ's fellow Jews do not see.  For, as he says through the friends whom he sends to Jesus, he is one who is placed under authority; he knows how to command, and he is also commanded, and he recognizes this quality clearly in Jesus Christ.  In a hierarchy such as his within the army, humility serves a soldier well, and compassion can also serve a commander in motivating the men who serve under him.  So, in today's reading, we are given a great lesson and a great insight, and perhaps a prefiguring of the Gentiles who would come to Christ.  We know in the Church that a great many of the early martyrs and saints of the Church were actually soldiers; their martyrdom came about for refusing to participate in worship that conflicted with their faith.  Saints such as St. George, St. Demetrios, St. Alexander, and in the Greek Orthodox tradition, St. Phanourios, remain ever-present reminders among the faithful that so many come from the ranks of the military.  In fact, it is Cornelius the Centurion who is regarded in the Church as the first Gentile convert to Christianity (see Acts 10:1-8).  In our own modern age, so many centuries after Christ's time in His earthly ministry, we can take heart in understanding that our own modern experiences may even prepare us -- similarly to the centurion -- for His gospel.  At this time in our world, first of all, we can trace the evolution of cultural and political concepts that have at their root inspiration from the teachings of Christ, as documented in the book Dominion by historian Tom Holland.  Moreover, we are capable of seeing the results of societies and cultures that rejected this historical foundation and sought differing political solutions to social problems.  From the far right, to the far left, including Nazism (which invented its own "blood and soil" type religion), to communism in many different forms, we may at this stage of history observe the outcomes to these institutions within whole societies and their subsequent failure.  We can look around in our world and observe the blessings of representative systems as compared with others where more oppressive regimes rule and simply consider how the cultural adaptation to the teachings of Christ (or not) figures in subsequent evolution.  Should we consider this all simply a relic of the past, all we have to do is look around, for the dynamic power of the gospel message is still in struggle and even conflict in places around the world, particularly among people who cherish a hope for a life of dignity, integrity, and like the centurion, one of compassion, even particularly among the humble.  Let us see in the centurion the reality of the dynamic power of Christ, and how His authority is at work deep within us, and even in unexpected places, for people to continue anew to discover for themselves.  Perhaps we should add that it is also observable that when we seek to divorce the spiritual reality of the gospel message from its cultural or social message, we find ourselves in abstractions that don't really work all that well.  The power of His authority is at work in a dynamic that we dare not separate into simply intellectual theories and systems of code for conduct, divorced from the cosmic reality of Christ.  We always come back to Him for the fullness of the gospel, just as the centurion understood.