Monday, September 16, 2013

Authority, Faith, Miracles


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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