Matthew 8:5-13
At that time, as Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion answered him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I 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 he does it.” When Jesus heard him, he marvelled, and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; be it done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Our Gospel reading today centres around the figure of a centurion. A centurion, as you’re doubtless aware, was a soldier in the Roman legions and the commander of 100 men – although that number could vary – which was called a century, with the typical legion being made up of around 6000 men being made up of 60 centuries and therefore having 60 centurions commanding them.
And, of course, there were centurions and there were centurions. Some were men who had risen through the ranks, poor men who gained their rank by virtue of their long service, ability as a leader of men, and courage and prowess on the field of battle.
Others, more commonly, would have come from wealthier backgrounds, perhaps former members of the Equestrian Order, which was of a lesser rank than that of the senatorial families. Some of these might have lost their fortunes and their place in the Order as a result and were seeking to start anew by joining the army; others were seeking to better their position in Roman society by way of military service as this was the necessary first step to political advancement in the Roman system.
Or they might have been men from good families from the provinces, men who had gained Roman citizenship as a result of their good service to the state, perhaps as local magistrates, and were now seeking to improve their position even further by serving in the Army.
These latter two categories would have been a more common way of attaining the rank of centurion. And we may be sure that they were no less capable in that office than those drawn from the ranks of common soldiers; the Roman Army would hardly have been the most powerful and feared in the Ancient World if the majority of its officers were incompetent.
Elsewhere in the Gospels we read that this particular centurion loves the people of Israel and has even gone so far as to finance the building of a synagogue for the local community. Now, synagogues do not come cheap. So, he was certainly a wealthy man.
And, as we see from the text, he was also a man comfortable with being in a position to give orders to others, whether it was giving orders to his soldiers or his slaves. And, of course, as a centurion the orders he gave to his men might well result in their death in battle, so he must have been a tough man as well.
But he was also a man with a kindly heart. Note that he tells Jesus not only that his servant is paralysed but that he is in terrible distress. This is not simply a man who wants to get his servant back to work because it is an inconvenience to him that he is lying in his bed unable to do anything. This is a man who sees the distress of his servant and is himself distressed by it. So much so that he is willing to do anything he can to do something about it and so goes to Jesus himself to ask His help, even going so far as to address a young, itinerant, Jewish teacher as ‘Lord’.
What brought him to Jesus? The Fathers tell us that he had heard of the miracle worked by Jesus, which was mentioned not long before in this Gospel, the healing of a leper. From this he understood that if anyone could heal his servant it was Jesus.
So, he goes to Him. And a wonderous exchange takes place. After our Lord agrees to visit the centurion’s home and heal his servant, the centurion replies with words that have truly echoed down the ages: ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.’ These are words that are embedded in the hearts of all Christians, heard again and again by them in countless Liturgies and prayers, sometimes quoted directly, other times slightly paraphrased.
And the reply from our Lord should equally be burned into our hearts: ‘Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’ Often in the Gospels we hear our Lord praise the faith of those He meets, telling some that their faith has made them well, others that their faith has saved them. But only this man, a Roman and a soldier, is told that Jesus had never encountered such faith in anyone else.
Our Lord does not stop there. He goes on to say ‘I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’ The Fathers tell us that Jesus is speaking prophetically here, making it clear to his disciples and all who are nearby, that His Good News is not only for the Jews but for the gentiles as well; and promising that many among the gentiles will one day be with Him in paradise, even as He warns that there are those who consider themselves to be ‘sons of the kingdom’ who will never see that blessed place.
The day will come when we will all find out whether we are among those who think themselves unworthy to have the Lord enter under their roof who will sit at table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom; or among those who think themselves already sons of the kingdom who instead find themselves weeping in the outer darkness. Let us all pray, one for each other, that we are found even to have a fraction of the faith shown by the centurion that day and are welcomed by our Lord into His kingdom. Amen.
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