Wednesday, 15 october, 2003

Note: Monday through Wednesday's devotions will be from the July 2000 archives



Text: Matthew 8:5-13



When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress." And he said to Hime, " I will come and cure him." The centurion answered, " Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man 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 him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, "truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; let it be done for you according to your faith." And the servant was healed in that hour.



When I was growing up in the Roman Catholic church, one of the liturgical responses we would make right before the distribution of Holy Communionion was, "Lord I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, speak but the word and my soul shall be healed." Unfortunately, there were many who could not allowed to come to the meal even though they would speak those words. My father and mother were examples of those. Because my father's first wife divorced him while he was in the Pacific during WWII and then years later he married my mother, they were excluded from the table. In our gospel lesson for today, we are looking at quite another picture. Trusting Jesus' authority prompts Jesus to delcare the "beginning of God's rule and it will transcend all social and ethnic boundaries." Jesus is Lord of all...all. One group is not excluded or favored over another one. Rather, those who trust in God's Reign will come from all corners of the world and all people - trusting in God's gracious Reign and the power for new life is all that matters. Even a Gentile, Roman, pagan comes to the banquet of God's Reign. Trust alone in God.



Connection: Remember, we welcome all as the Spirit brings them to trust in the love of God as seen in Jesus. When we hear people talk about Jesus as Lord, is the Lordship of their Jesus one that shows him to be the Lord of God's unconditional love or is he Lord of something else. We have too many images of Jesus and the Good News as something you must "fit into." Not. It is an open door through which we, like this outsider, may enter and ask for life.



Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me home, help me stand...and bring your love and grace around us to encourage our trust in you and our love for all who count on you to make our lives whole. Amen.