In today’s Gospel, Luke 7:1-10, we are given the example of
a centurion, a foreigner, believing in Jesus’ power to heal his slave, or
anyone for that matter. Not feeling
worthy to approach Jesus, recognizing Jesus’ authority and power, he does not
personally come into Jesus’ presence but asks his elders to take his request to
Jesus. The centurion recognizes the
importance of authority and respects authority. He himself, in fact, occupies a
position of authority. He tells Jesus that
his soldiers go where he tells them to go and that his slaves do what they are
asked to do. Jesus was amazed at the
faith of this centurion and says: “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found
such faith.” And when the centurion’s
messengers returned to the house, “they found the salve in good health.”
Am I respectful of authority? Do I recognize the importance
of authority or am I resentful of persons who have authority over me? Does my
attitude toward authority get in my way of believing in the miracles that come
from being cooperative and forgiving, of praying for those in authority,
especially for those whose commands I find difficult to carry out? Does my resentment of authority and my exaggerated importance of
my own authority obstruct my openness to Jesus’ authority to heal, to do the
impossible in my life, in the life of others, in the church, the world, the
society in which I live? In other words,
am I the centurion or one of the Israelites in today’s Gospel story?
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