Glory to Jesus Christ. Today, a centurion comes
to Christ. Today, a man of great power, authority,
and respect, who commands nearly a hundred soldiers,
is so concerned for the life of his sick and
paralyzed servant. that instead of sending a
messenger, which he could have easily done, he
personally goes to Jesus to ask for his help.
And when Jesus says that he'll go heal him, the
centurion politely refuses. Now, this isn't because
he doesn't want to inconvenience Jesus, or because
he's a high -ranking Roman officer who's somehow
ashamed to be seen welcoming a lowly Jewish vagabond
rabbi into his home. No. he refuses because he's
ashamed of himself. He says, Lord, I am not worthy
to have you come under my roof. I am not worthy.
So why is he not worthy? Why is he not sufficient?
I mean, isn't he a Roman officer? Doesn't he
have a hundred men under his command? And hasn't
he come all this way to personally beg Jesus
to heal his servant? And isn't that commendable
in and of itself? So why is he not worthy? You
see, a Roman soldier, by Roman law, is obliged
to offer incense, a sacrifice of incense to the
pagan gods, most especially to the emperor, whom
they saw as divine. And if you refuse to offer
that incense, well, that's tantamount to high
treason, punishable by death. Now, we're actually
fortunate enough in this church to have a whole
wall of iconography there in the back, dedicated
to the 40 holy martyrs of Sebaste. were Roman
soldiers who were killed precisely because they
would not offer that incense. And so this centurion
is acutely aware of his unworthiness before Christ
because he has retained his position and his
very life by offering incense to foreign idols.
And he clearly knows this is wrong because he
has a growing awareness that the God of the Jews,
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the one true
God. And now this faith has grown to the point
that has moved him to action. Now despite all
of his achievements, despite his rank and his
authority, he can do nothing to heal his servant.
He's just not sufficient. And so he comes to
Jesus. And by coming to Jesus publicly, he's
essentially exposed himself as a believer. Begging
a lowly subject of the Roman Empire, who isn't
even a citizen, someone they consider a barbarian,
who belongs to a religion hostile to theirs,
begging someone like that is way below the dignity
of a Roman officer. Now, it's not only inconceivable,
but it's utterly humiliating. And this, this
is why Christ is astounded. This is why Jesus
marvels, and he only marvels twice. in all the
Gospels. He marvels here at the faith of the
pagan centurion Gentile, and he marvels at the
unbelief of the people of his own hometown of
Nazareth. And so Jesus uses the faith of the
Gentile centurion as a standard with which to
judge his own people. He says, I have not found
such great faith, not even in Israel. And that,
is such a heavy blow to them. Because the people
of Israel have been given everything. They are
the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
They were saved out of Egypt by God. They were
fed and protected by God in the desert. They
were given the Ten Commandments. God literally
lived in their midst in the tabernacle and then
in the temple. And then God gave them prophets
who wrote about Christ. In short, they were given
every advantage possible. for their salvation.
So by all means, they should be sufficient. They
should be worthy. They should have faith in Christ.
So how could they possibly fall short? How could
it be that they don't have as much faith as this
pagan Gentile? You know, this forces me to think
about all of the advantages I've been given in
my own spiritual life. I was given the seal of
the gift of the Holy Spirit at baptism, and the
law of God was written on my heart. I had a great
catechist. I've had the best spiritual fathers
anyone can ask for. I have the whole Bible at
my fingertips. And whenever I wander away, when
I miss the mark, when I make mistakes and push
God away, I'm shown grace and given the opportunity
to repent and reconcile with God. through confession
and forgiveness of my sins. I'm given even more
advantages than the Jews ever had, unimaginably
more. And yet, I find myself constantly squandering
it all. I walk out of those doors, and I so quickly
forget about God and the priceless gifts he's
given me. You see, I'm not like that centurion
who humbled himself to take care of his sick
servant. How often is it? that I encounter people
begging in the street and I just walk by them
without ever looking them in the eye or stopping
to ask what they need? How often is it that I'm
too caught up in my own world, in my own ego,
that I'm completely unaware of how I can personally
alleviate the suffering of my family members
or the members of my community? And even if I
am aware, honestly, how often is it that I try
my darndest to take the easy route, the least
costly to me, the most convenient way for me
to help them. Remember, the centurion's faith
moves him to action at great cost to himself,
at great cost to his own reputation. It moves
him to imitate Christ, to become a living icon
of the Good Samaritan, to become an embodiment
of the shepherd who leaves the 99 to find the
one lost sheep. But more than that, Can you imagine
what sort of impression that must have made on
the soldiers under his command? Or on the people
in the area who knew him and respected him? I
mean, there's no way he could have hidden this.
Can you imagine what kind of witness that was?
Imagine how many people were primed to receive
the good news of the resurrection after seeing
or hearing about this. And yet, that pagan centurion...
had received none of the advantages that the
Jews had, none of the advantages that I have.
You see, I have no excuse. So when I fail to
act like Christ, when I neglect his commandments
out of convenience, when I fail to recognize
my Lord and God in the face of his children,
in the face of my wife, my teachers, the person
serving my coffee, or even in the face of...
that co -worker or classmate who just really
annoys me. Then I have failed to recognize God
himself. And yet, I dare to walk into church
on Sunday and receive his body and blood into
my home, into my own body, into my soul. When
I do that, the only thing that awaits me, as
Jesus says, is outer darkness, where there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now, This outer
darkness, brothers and sisters, this is not a
place prepared for people who don't already know
Christ, who don't know his gospel, his commandments,
who haven't received the mysteries of baptism,
chrismation, the Eucharist, confession. It's
for us, who have received the fullness of the
truth, yet do nothing with these great gifts.
You see, if I'm not using God's gifts to heal
his broken world, and to make it more and more
like the kingdom of heaven each and every day,
if I'm not moved by my faith to action, then
my soul is no better off than that centurion's
servant, paralyzed and greatly afflicted. But
today, when Christ marvels at that centurion,
he's calling us to marvel with him, because he's
pointing out that centurion as a standard for
us to emulate in his words. his deeds and disposition
towards Christ. And it is this disposition of
humility that God wants for us. As we pray so
often, a sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit,
a heart that is broken and humbled. God will
not despise. It is this disposition of humility
that has granted Gentiles like this centurion
the reward of sitting at table with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob in heaven. So let us also be
among them. In just a little while, when the
holy chalice comes out of the altar, come forward
boldly to meet Christ like the centurion, with
profound awareness of your unworthiness, but
with firm faith in the goodness, the love, and
the power of Christ, which makes you worthy to
receive him. And make the centurion's words your
own words. I am not sufficient, O Lord, that
you should come under the roof of my soul, but
with trust I draw nigh. And then, and only then,
will the amazing and wonderful gifts that God
has given us abundantly manifest in our lives.
And perhaps then, God will also marvel at us.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ.