Luke 7:1-10
Jesus Heals a
Centurion’s Servant
"After Jesus
had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered
Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill
and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to
him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they
appealed to him earnestly, saying, ‘He is worthy of having you do this for him,
for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.’ And
Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion
sent friends to say to him, ‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy
to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But
only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set
under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”, and he goes,
and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this”, and the slave
does it.’ When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd
that followed him, he said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such
faith.’ When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the
slave in good health."
There are 4 very important
parts to every story. Without them, a story would not be worth telling. Can you
guess what these parts are?
A story needs a beginning,
middle and an end. This is true. But a good story needs something else. Every
story that is worth telling needs a problem to solve and a person to solve it. Every
good story needs conflict. In his book, A
Million Miles In A Thousand Years, Donald Miller spends 300 pages wrestling
with the importance of story and why conflict is necessary for the development
of the characters within that story.
He states, “If you watched a movie about a guy who
wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn’t cry at the end when
he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers. You wouldn’t tell your
friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home a put a record on to think about
the story you’d seen. The truth is, you wouldn’t remember the movie a week
later, except that you’d feel robbed and want your money back. Nobody cries at
the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo. But we spend years actually
living those stories, and expect our lives to feel meaningful. The truth is, of
what we choose to do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t
make a life meaningful either.” (Miller, 2009, Pg. xxiii )
In the reading of the
‘Healing of the Centurion’s Servant’ from Luke 7:1-10 all the characters want
something and are willing to engage in conflict to get it. The Centurion wants
his servant healed. The Temple Rulers want to keep the funder of the Temple
happy and Jesus wants to invite all people, including the Jewish people, into a
relationship with God the Father. Jesus, out of his compassion, wants to offer
healing to those in need, unite the Temple rulers, the centurion and the
servant to become a part of the kingdom of God.
Jesus is the one person that touches the lives of all people in this
account. He crosses all social, economic, and religious boundaries in order to
send the message that ALL ARE WELCOME in the kingdom of God. As followers of
Jesus, we too are called to go to all people and places and share the good
news.
“You have brains in your
head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you
choose.” These words may be familiar to you. They are
hanging over the door to my office as a reminder to always keep learning,
growing and moving. They come from the book, ‘Oh the places you’ll go.’ By: Dr.
Seuss. This book is often given to recent graduates as a means of affirming
their place in the world. This popular book encourages the reader to do their best,
go into the world and make a difference. One reason I think this book is so
popular is that while it encourages the reader to action, it does not soft sell
the challenges of “going”.
‘I’m
sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to
you…And when you’re in a slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping
yourself is not easily done. You can get so confused that you’ll start in to
race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles
across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The
Waiting Place…for people just waiting. Everyone is just waiting. NO! That’s not
for you! Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the
bright places where Boom Bands are playing. You mountain is waiting. So…get on
you way!”
Our gospel lesson today mirrors Seuss’,
‘middle places of waiting, those slumps that seem impossible to move
past, and the grind on for miles across weirdish wild spaces’.
In our humanity we know that
it is impossible to go to the places that are hard and to the people that are
different from us. We are flawed and unsure of what to do. This problem – much
like the healing of the sick servant – is one we can’t do alone. It is only by
Jesus power that we can “go” anywhere at all. If Jesus had not been called by
the centurion, there is no way his servant would have been healed. Jesus was
much more than a teacher and rabbi. Jesus was and is the son of God and his
word alone had the power to accomplish amazing things. “The Lord we worship is
mighty in word, responsive to our needs, and compassionate to heal. (New
Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, pg. 156)” We, like the centurion and servant, have
not seen Jesus face to face – but this does not erase his presence from our
lives. It is because of Jesus power, his life – sacrifice and resurrection -
that we begin to understand and live out faith, hope and love.
In this lesson and many
others, Jesus works in all intersections of life and society: free, enslaved,
religious, irreligious, wealthy and poor. As followers of Jesus it is important
to remember that he is with us in all stations of life. Jesus presence with us
is wonderful news, but this message can’t stop here. Just like the centurion
speaks up for his servant who had no voice – we also are called to speak up for
and share God’s good news to all. Jesus interacts with people in all social and
economic states – we are called to go too.
Dr. Seuss says, “You have
brains in your head and feet in your shoes – you can steer yourself in any
direction you choose.” While I think Dr. Seuss has a great way of encouraging
readers to get up and go out into the world, I’d like to take his advice and
change it a bit.
“You have brains in your
head, and feet in your shoes. You can go in any direction – with God or you
steering - choose.”
Who do we think should be
doing the steering in life - us or God? There are many people and places that
need faith, hope and love. It is only by God’s power that we move beyond our
comfort zones to share them with the world. Our lives can have more meaning
than we ever dreamed if God is steering the way. If it’s true that people
desire life to have meaning like a bestselling novel, then let’s not live good
stories, but gospel stories! There are people, mountains and challenges that
God is calling us to go to. Remember that Jesus, God’s son, is our constant traveling
companion, no matter the challenge or how rough the road gets. At the beginning, the middle, the end and the conflicts of our life - God is with us!
In the words of Dr. Seuss – “Our Mountain is waiting. So…let’s get on
our way!”
With God, with Jesus and
with the Holy Spirit – to the people and places - we’ll go.
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