Faith Demonstrated by the Centurion

In today's Gospel, Luke 7: 1-10, we learn of the centurion whose slave is at the point of death. The centurion sends Jewish elders to Jesus, asking that he come to heal his slave whom he valued highly.  The elders beg Jesus to respond to the centurion's request because he "deserves to have you do this for him, because he loves our nation and he built a synagogue for us."  As Jesus is approaching the centurion's house, the centurion says to him,  "Lord, do  not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I do not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I, too, am a person 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."

Jesus is absolutely amazed by this man from Rome and heals his slave.  He's never met such a person in all of Israel with the faith of this centurion.  Would Jesus say this of you, of me?  Have you, have I developed the kind of character this centurion has developed?   

The Lamp Stand: Will it Stay or Be Removed

In today’s first reading, Revelation 1: 1-4,; 2: 1-5, John commends the church of Ephesus for its good works, its labor, its endurance, its intolerance of wickedness, and  its testing of self-proclaimed apostles. “You have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary.”  But, then, the people of the church of Ephesus are confronted for having lost their first love, their initial commitment to Christ. “Repent,” the Lord says to them through John, “and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent;” in other words, you will live in darkness.

What is happening in the U.S. may be that our lamp stands are being taken away from us and given to others who adhere to truth and justice, to what is right for everyone, that is, for the rich and the poor, immigrants and natives, Blacks and Whites, Mexicans and Hispanics, Asians and Africans—all cultures—as well as  heterosexuals and homosexuals, men and women—all who make up the fabric of the U.S. and of the world.

Repent,” the Lord says  to the church of Ephesus and to us, “and do the works you did at first. He says to the American people, repent and do the works you did at first when you, as members of your civic, ecclesial, familial and religious communities, worked together for the common good, to accomplish agreed-upon goals that made your world a better place for everyone; when you as a nation, as a government crossed party lines and enacted legislation that benefited all peoples.  Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” In other words, you will live in darkness. Is it possible that we are moving into a very dark period of our history as Americans, a darkness that will effect the whole world?

Personally, are you, am I, ready to repent and turn away from our idols—from anything that blinds us to God’s Holy Will? Am I, are you, ready to turn away from anything that blocks us from doing that which needs to be done to promote justice and peace, that deepens our love for God, self and others and that leads us to repentance of the wrongs we have done? Like Bartimaeus in today's Gospel, Luke 18: 35-43, am I, are you, asking Jesus to remove our blindness that we are able to see Jesus in all that is happening and follow His ways?