7Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."
8The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
10When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
13Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.
-Matthew 8-5-13 (NIV)
I am in the middle of a Bible study entitled Experiencing God. It has been a powerful experience that has adjusted the way I look at my faith. It has also brought me closer to god. On top of working on this study everyday, I have taken up various daily readings to help keep the spirit active in my thoughts throughout the day.
One of these readings is a chapter in the New Testament everyday. It should be obvious how far I am from this verse. What strikes me is the synchronicity at work in my life and at the church.
Asbury is at a crossroads. Our new pastor has done much to bring in new folks and extend the ministry of the church. However, it is still an aging congregation. Cancellations of Tree Sales and a huge budget shortfall for the year concern me.
I, of course, am taking stock in how I add to this problem and am in prayer constantly to help me do what I can. However, the Tree Sale in particular concerns me. It is a tradition and we are having a hard time creating new traditions. This should not be a surprise in a year when we held no Vacation Bible School and are now cancelling another annual fundraiser with the excuse of manpower.
It's funny to me, because the very first page of the very first lesson of Exploring God discusses a spiritual budget and it was at a multi-church event at Asbury that I heard the phrase "God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called."
Of course, I have my own faith problems. However, I am only so hardheaded. I have been beat over the head in the last year or so with "active missioning" and I thought that what I do for and through the church should be enough. A crisis of faith has arisen and I have been disobedient to God's will. It is high time I was not just open about my faith, but offering my witness as it comes to me.
I started this blog as a reaction to an experience given from the grace of god, but have let it lay fallow. How sad. The tools were right there, waiting for me to use them.
So what does this all have to do with this scripture? The Roman should not have even come to Jesus, but he did. So powerful was his faith that he went against the teachings of his own land and sought this messiah. So strong was his faith that when Jesus offered to come to his aid, the Centurion declined. Jesus had more important things to be doing. Better places to be. There was no need for him to be present in the healing, he could do the will of God from anywhere, his father was all powerful. His father had brought this man to him, after all! No, Jesus could do it and not waste the time. Jesus is astonished at this man's faith and points it out to his followers. No wonder he was testy in the Gospel According to John. His disciples needed to see things, but this one Roman had extraordinary faith that Jesus could work his miracles despite his place and time and nationality.
Truly, it is not enough to merely do as we have done or as we think we can do. Through Jesus, extraordinary things are possible. All he asks is that we believe.
2 comments:
This is a powerful passage in scripture. We are alot like the Centurion... we are born into a world that is alien to the world God desires (the Roman world versus the Hebrew world, which was supposed to be an example of righteousness, though it really wasn't). We have a great challenge to believe in a world that doesnt seem to have much to do with God and is distancing itself from God more and more each day. ...But who's fault is that? In ancient times, God called on the Jews to show the world the godly life... today, God calls us. We are the "subjects of the kingdom" that, since we arent performing God's will well, admirably or even-at-all, are left outside of the feast. (I'm, of course, not talking about it in a sense of salvation as I'm sure Jesus was, but still..).
True, I was struck today with how it spoke to me in a way it had not previously. I have always focused on the feast part and missed the faith that the Centurion represented. Blind, unconditional, unquestioning. You say it will be, so it will be. That is more faith than most will ever realize.
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