When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
"Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully."
The centurion must have cared deeply about this servant to bring this petition to Jesus. He knew that he himself did not merit that for which he asked, and there was no guarantee that Jesus would help. And yet there was something about Jesus that made him hold out hope.
He said to him, "I will come and cure him."
The centurion said in reply,
"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
When the centurion was before Jesus and received the response he had been hoping for he was overwhelmed. It was similar to what Peter felt when he said "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (see Luke 5:8). It was also like what Paul expressed when he said "that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (see First Timothy 1:15). Yet the hope that drove the centurion to go before Jesus with his request was was based not on his own merit but on the person of Jesus himself. The fact that the centurion was unworthy might have presented an obstacle to others, but not to Jesus himself. And this was true especially because the centurion did not insist on being involved or playing a specific role or even being spectator on the action. He was willing to stand aside and let Jesus act. And his faith somehow assured him that Jesus could do this.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes;
and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes;
and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."
We may well wonder what it was exactly that persuaded the centurion that the Jesus had such power. For it seemed that he believed that Jesus had power over reality itself in just the way a commander would over soldiers. Because he did have faith to this magnitude he realized it was in fact trivial for Jesus to handle his request, that it was not work, that it would not put him out. This faith was great enough that it persuaded him to entrust the deep concern of his heart to Jesus, believing that Jesus himself need not be bound by the limitations of intermediaries such as he. As such, the centurion himself was able to let go, to surrender his servant to the loving mercy of Jesus.
Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
Our faith tends to be my tenuous than that of the centurion. We often seem to believe that Jesus has some power, but that it is limited based on time and place, that some things are of greater challenge and others less so. We don't always or often recognize the sheer magnitude of his holiness as compared to our unworthiness as the centurion did. Because of this we tend to insist on our involvement, juxtaposing ourselves between Jesus and the desires of our hearts. But as long as we imagine that we can use some personal merit we possess to help things along we will in fact never arrive at our desired end. Even if we are great in the eyes of the world, as the centurion certainly was in some sense, we must learn that this greatness does not impress Jesus. At the same time we are meant to realize that we need not impress him, that his love and mercy is not contingent on us or on our worth, but is rather a gift he freely gives. He will not sell it, and indeed it cannot be bought, but he will happily give it to those who ask in humility.
The centurion was a perfect example of humility because he did not let that humility become an obstacle to Jesus. He did indulge a falsely grand humility in which Jesus himself could do nothing to help him. His belief in Jesus was such that no matter how unworthy he was Jesus was not any less able to intervene.
And Jesus said to the centurion,
"You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you."
And at that very hour his servant was healed.
We see in Abraham that humility before his guests allowed him to show hospitality to angels, and in some way, to God himself. He wanted to receive them as guests, not to get something for himself, but in order to show them kindness. And that kindness was to prepare for them the a little bit of the best of everything he could offer. We miss similar opportunities in part because we are less humble. We are less able to receive others, and therefore to receive the Lord himself, because we are more full of ourselves and attached to the time, talent, and treasure we might otherwise use to show hospitality. May the Lord help us to have humility and faith like that of Abraham and like the centurion. Who knows? We too may unknowingly entertain angels.
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares (see Hebrews 13:2).
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