St. Luke 7:1-10: "1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 5 'for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.' 6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, 'Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, "Go," and he goes; and to another, "Come," and he comes; and to my servant, "Do this," and he does it.' 9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, 'I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!' 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick."
The season of Lent begins today, Ash Wednesday, with the account of the centurion, whose servant is sick, and desires that our Lord Jesus would come and heal him. The theme to this whole text is humility, and that after all is a part of what Lent is about, humbling ourselves before God on account of our sin.
What is truly amazing about this centurion, however, is that he is a man of great authority, as he relates to our Lord Jesus, through his servants, that he is a man who says to his soldiers, "Go," and they go, and "Come," and they come, and he says to his servant, "Do this," and he does it. Now, at first glance this doesn't really seem like humility, it seems like the centurion is bragging about how much power and authority he has. But that is precisely the point, for even though the centurion has all this power and authority over people, he realizes that he is not worthy to have our Lord Jesus come under his roof.
Furthermore, the centurion believes that the Lord does not even have to show up for the servant to be healed; That our Lord Jesus could heal him just by speaking the word. This centurion was not a Jew, he was a Roman soldier, but he had already demonstrated his love for the people of Israel, by building them a synagogue. This centurion also reveals he understands who has the true authority and power, for he understands that the power and authority of our Lord, Who is the Creator and Preserver of all things, is far more greater than any power that he holds. In this we are shown the centurion's humility, and that he is placing himself under our Lord Jesus' authority.
For this faith, our Lord Jesus turns to the entire crowd, and proclaims to them that no faith like this has he seen in the people of God. This is truly a remarkable statement for He is basically saying that the people of God, who have His Word and teachings, lack the faith of someone, who doesn't have these things. One wonders what produced the faith in this centurion. We can tell, since he built a synagogue, the place where God's Word was preached and taught among the Jews, that somewhere along the line, he must have heard the Old Testament of the Jews. And it was a love for this Word that he had heard, that prompted him to build a synagogue for them. And we can further surmise that since our Lord Jesus was preaching and teaching, and healing the sick, and casting out demons in the region, that the centurion would have heard the reports about Him. Therefore, the centurion has placed his faith, not in healing powers, but in the Lord Jesus Himself. And this centurion willingly places aside his own authority, to be under our Lord's authority.
One final note about his pericope. The words that the centurion states, that proclaim his humility, are part of the prayers that ministers have been praying for centuries, as part of their prayers before receiving communion. The phrase used is, "Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my soul shall be healed." The priest would repeat this phrase three times, beating his chest with lower three fingers of his right hand when he said the words "not worthy." This signified that the Celebrant, although handing the people of God our Lord's Body and Blood, the true Authority and Minister was our Lord. He is just acting on our Lord's behalf. Therefore, he speaks of his unworthiness to hold this honor, and to receive the Lord's Body and Blood, for his forgiveness.
This too, should be our attitude when we receive the Lord's Supper. We should express our unworthiness to receive the forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation that are given to us in the Holy Eucharist. For, on account of our sinfulness, we do not deserve to receive this gift. But on account of our Lord's Word, that is, the Words of Institution, which proclaim that the Body and Blood, given in bread and wine, are for the remission of our sins. He gives this to us freely, without any merit or worthiness on our part.
Therefore, as we enter into the season of Lent this day, let us humble ourselves before our Almighty Lord, and with ashes upon our heads, receive the Lord's Body and Blood given in bread and wine.
May God be with you!
Deacon Dulas
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