In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Today we meet the centurion
coming to Jesus to ask for help with his paralyzed
young servant, a Roman, and thus a Gentile, non
-Israelite. The centurion recognizes and states
plainly, His unworthiness before Jesus, whom
he repeatedly calls Lord twice in a short passage.
Not simply a title for Jesus, like despot or
master, but Kyrios, a designation for the name
of Israel's God, said by a Gentile. Besides that,
being a Gentile, the centurion knows. that he
is not worthy of Jesus to come into his house,
even though Jesus is willing to come and be present
with his young servant. Because of his human
servants, those who are under his authority,
the centurion reasons that he himself doesn't
always have to be physically present to get something
done. Understanding what it is to have authority,
the centurion can tell so -and -so servant to
do something and it somehow gets done. And to
tell another so -and -so something and it somehow
gets done. Unlike the centurion, however, since
Jesus is Lord, Kyrios, as Lord, he himself doesn't
technically need to be there. does he need human
servants to carry out his will? Technically speaking,
Jesus can simply say a word according to this
Roman centurion, and this centurion's young servant
will be healed. In this way, the Gentile, the
Roman, the Gentile centurion mysteriously utters
the words of the Israelite psalmist. He sent
out his word and healed them and rescued them
from their pit or corruption. And it's at this
point that Jesus marvels. Jesus is amazed. Jesus
wonders, saying to his followers, not technically
the centurion, but to his followers, not even
in Israel. The best rendering. Not even in Israel
have I found such faith. And repeats to the centurion
something the Roman authority figure would himself
say to a servant. Go, but adds these words, let
it be done for you as you have believed. as the
servant is immediately healed from a distance.
For us, the story clearly wants us to examine
our faith. What kind of faith do we have? Throughout
Matthew's gospel, faith appears in three different
ways and in three different degrees. types of
faith, or perhaps you could say it's kind of
a spectrum of faith. We could think of faith
from one way, as an intellectual assent that
Jesus is who he says he is. There is that in
the Gospel of Matthew. We could think of faith
a second way, as a trust in Jesus that produces
loyalty, faithfulness. And obedient to him. That's
there in Matthew as well. But there is a third
faith. And a faith that Jesus is in fact looking
for. A belief in Jesus' power to work wonders.
A belief in Jesus' power to overcome obstacles
that seem impossible. And typically used. This
faith is typically used to help someone else.
What Jesus calls a faith that can move even mountains.
That last kind of faith is the faith that overcomes
the exclusion of Gentiles in the kingdom of God.
In Matthew's gospel where Jesus very clearly
states that he was only sent. for the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. That last kind of faith
is the kind of faith that produces healing, salvation,
help, and new life. In all of Matthew's gospel,
only twice, only two times, does Jesus respond
to a Gentile's request. Here with this Roman
centurion, and seven chapters later with the
Canaanite woman. to have Jesus help her daughter,
whom Jesus only helps after calling her a dog
and telling her that he has come simply for the
lost sheep of Israel's house. I think it's hard
for us, most of us here who are Gentiles, to
really feel the weight of that reality and fact.
Up until this point, that was a reality and fact.
And it isn't until the end of Matthew's Gospel
that Jesus actually tells the apostles to go
forth into the world and make disciples of all
nations, to make disciples of all the Gentiles,
even non -Israelites, only after he resurrects
from the dead, because it's the resurrection
that tears down the divisions between Jew. and
Gentile. But here we see a faith that believes
in that same power, that same power that bursts
forth from the resurrection against an inability
towards life and a faith that is present even
in absence and across distances. Jesus promises
to his followers that more will come like this
centurion, Gentiles, non -Israelites, who will
share in this kind of faith, a faith that will
seat them at the same table next to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, next to Abraham, who was ready
to offer his own son up in faith, knowing, knowing
that God's power could revive him even from the
dead, as Hebrews tells us. And Abraham, who believed
that God can overcome the barrenness of his wife,
who was so aged, Sarah, just like Isaac and Jacob
believed that God could overcome the barrenness
of their wives, Rebecca and Rachel. Next to Jacob,
at that same table who trusted that God could
bring his supposedly dead son Joseph back to
him after the two were separated for years and
years and years. We could go on. The centurion
exemplifies a similar kind of faith, a faith
in Jesus to overcome seemingly desperate situations,
to overcome distance. To let go of manipulation
and control and not try to co -opt Jesus for
one's own end. Because Jesus is kind, he has
enough space in himself, as it were, to deal
with control freaks. And he even has mercy on
them. But according to Matthew, it's the ones
who let go of their control. that sense their
unworthiness, that they should not even be near
him, that trust that Jesus will act and be there
to help, even when he doesn't seem to be there
at all. Those are the ones that Jesus looks at
their faith, and Jesus wonders, Jesus marvels
in their ability to look past obstacles. and
to put their faith in him to act in their life.
It's this kind of faith that he likens unto Abraham,
that trusts in the power of Christ's resurrection,
even Jesus as the resurrection and the life.
And of course, it holds up a mirror to us, brothers
and sisters. What kind of faith do we have vis
-a -vis Jesus? And why do we come here every
week to sit at the table with Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob? Because after all, that's what we're
doing when we come here. We come to the table
next to Abraham and all the rest of the saints,
upon which we offer ourselves as living sacrifices
through the bread and the wine to the Father
with Christ our God, who though being God, and
fills all space and time, is not here in the
way we humanly think he might be, but is at the
right hand of the Father. And nevertheless, by
the power of the Holy Spirit, he becomes here,
and is in fact here, because the Father and the
Spirit make him present to us, even in the bread
and the wine, as they become his flesh and blood
for our... remission of sins and our eternal
life. And so we might ask ourselves as we come,
as we come to recline at table, is our faith
simply a faith of intellectual assent? We believe
Jesus is God. We come here. We might even sing
the creed loudly. But that's pretty much all
it is coming for us. In his mercy, and because
he knows our weakness, he knows that we are dust.
In his mercy, Jesus will accept that. Is our
faith a faith that believes all those things,
but then tries to step in to the life of Jesus
in obedience, in allegiance, in loyalty? in many
prostrations, in much fasting, in coming to church
often, in a scrupulosity to our righteousness,
in many prayers, in obedience. And yet it feels
like we are always working and working and working
where we don't reach much satisfaction or life.
Now, in his mercy, because Jesus is kind and
Jesus knows that we are weak, Jesus will accept
that. Or, is our faith a faith that trusts Jesus
to move mountains in our life? To traverse time
and space in our life? For our sakes and the
sakes of those whom we love, because... He has
raised himself from the dead, and nothing can
separate us, nothing can separate him from us,
or us from him, because he loves us, and he has
poured out the love of God in our hearts by giving
us the Holy Spirit. We need to believe that Jesus
is God, but if our faith doesn't surpass intellectual
assent, we may begin to get to that point where
we wonder, what exactly are we doing here? What
is the point of our faith? Why don't I just sleep
in on Sunday and wake up to that nice cup of
coffee? Maybe I'll walk my dog and have some
time for myself once in a while. We need to be
faithful and obedient. To Christ. Allegiance.
Pledge allegiance to him. Be loyal to him. But
if our faith doesn't surpass faithfulness and
obedience. We may never see Jesus more than a
brutal taskmaster. Which is what we might learn
to see him as. Just like the older son. in the
parable of the prodigal son, when he looks at
his father and says, I have been slaving for
you. For how many years have I been trying to
please you? And misunderstands the whole point.
If our faith is like that, we may never see Jesus
more than that. We might only think of him as
someone who just demands a bunch of things from
us that we have to do as we don't really understand
even why, and we then become crippled under the
severe weight of it, never feeling like we can
get up, as we try to do a bunch of things that
Jesus likely didn't even ask us to do. But if
our faith breaks through, to this third kind
of faith. If ascent and faithfulness yields to
a faith of freedom and life and healing, a true
trust and confidence in him to keep us, a faith
that knows that Jesus wants to help us, that
Jesus has our best in mind, that Jesus will never
let us go, that Jesus will change us. And even
those around us. A faith which works through
love. A faith that acts without needing to feel
like we need to co -opt or control or manipulate
Jesus somehow. Or earn something from him. And
always leave unsatisfied. Because we can't realize
that's not actually what it's about. But a faith.
aware of its unworthiness and aware of our limitations,
that we are dust, that we are broken, that we
are Gentiles, most of us here. But knowing that
Jesus can conquer death, distance, and his absence,
brothers and sisters, is not actually absence
at all, but presence with us by his Holy Spirit.
The power to make the change in our lives again
and again and again. What we ask the Lord to
do. Every divine liturgy at the table over the
bread and the wine. This is the kind of faith
that Jesus marvels at. This is the kind of faith
that Jesus is amazed at. That Jesus wonders in
his people. That makes his saints wondrous and
glorious in him. This is the kind of faith that
reminds Jesus of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.
May God help us acquire this kind of faith. Amen.