A
sermon given at First Presbyterian Church, Spring City, TN, Feb. 5, 2017
Some scholars attribute a somewhat trivial message to
the gospel passage, Luke 7:1-10:
“salvation is open to everyone.”(See Fitzmyer) It is a valid point but most gospel writing
attributed to sayings and acts of Jesus have an important message buried within that works
as an undercurrent message roiling the waters of commonsense thinking and values. In this passage that undercurrent is the exercise
of authority guided by the virtues of humility and power. The message seems quite appropriate in the current
national political conversation in the United States. Let’s find it.
Jesus has been preaching and teaching, though not in
some quiet, private setting. Luke offers a few clues a quick reader might
overlook. Luke says that Jesus has been telling his sayings in the
hearing of all the people. “Telling
his sayings” sounds like Jesus has been describing the Christian ethic; namely,
how to live the good life of the gospel. “In the hearing of all the people”
clearly means everyone, including this centurion, knows Jesus is around, who
Jesus is and what he teaches.
The centurion has a dilemma. His favored slave is
deathly ill. Hearing of the healing acts of Jesus, the centurion orders some
Jewish elders to beseech Jesus to come back.
This presents two puzzling problems that begin to
disturb the water. The centurion wants to talk to Jesus. This is surprising.
The centurion is a military official of Rome with some high rank. The centurion has heard most certainly Jesus is called the “King of the Jews” or “Messiah,” given
his position as a powerful Roman officer. He would not be particularly
interested in a one-on-one conversation with a common Palestinian Jew because many Palestinian Jews who drew crowds were likely to be rebellious and threatening zealots. Soldiers usually
traveled together prepared for such potential violence. We are left to think perhaps his
compassion for his slave is so strong he will try anything. But this raises the
second troubling matter. To show compassion for a slave is a surprisingly
humble reaction for a powerful centurion.
Realize a centurion was a senior
officer of the Roman Army. He commanded a group of about 80 soldiers, and if well-qualified
may have commanded other centurions. These were elite, hardened soldiers. They
were required to be literate (a skill very few people had), and at least 30 years-old.
They were marked by experience, leadership and bravery required of one who fought
at, and survived the frontline of battle.
The issue of virtue and ethical perspective is an
important but often overlooked matter in Roman times. The virtues one prizes as “good”
shape one's ethical perspective. Such virtues might be compassion, love,
frugality, stewardship, hate, egotism, etc. For example, the ethical of charity
rests arguably on the virtue of love. Domination rests on the virtue of power. The centurion represented the ethical
perspective of Rome and that ethic was domination based on the virtue of power. Domination of its conquered lands such as Palestine, required other virtues in its populace.
The virtue of power was always a characteristic of
Rome, it was how Rome accomplished its goals. By the time of Jesus, power had become an
“intrinsic virtue,” it was valued not for ethical reasons but as an exercise for its own sake.
Rome ruled its conquered lands with a calfskin glove
on one hand, and an iron fist of power on the other. The iron fist always
lurked, looking for and eliminating dissent. Political dissent was not tolerated. The punishment
for dissent was a cruel and painful death by crucifixion.
The army run by its generals and centurions enforced
a two-fold message from Rome; “embrace Roman ethics (values) and ‘work with the
program’ so you can enjoy all the freedom and benefits of Roman rule, otherwise
if you dissent, it means death.”
Being a good Roman citizen required primarily accepting
their gods, serving in their military and paying their taxes. Rome offered a religious
compromise to its new subjects. They could keep worshipping their gods but they
must also honor and worship the Roman gods - especially the Emperor who is the
self-proclaimed messiah. This was a
thorn in the side of the Palestinian Hebrews who worship the one God in the
land God gave them. That thorn fed the continuing militancy that required a
strong Roman military presence.
There were other important Roman virtues. The
calfskin and iron gloves demanded the virtue of humility in its subjects.
Humility in Roman eyes is the virtue of willingly conforming to absolute power.
The most valued virtue for a slave is absolute humility. (This is what makes Philippians 2: 5-11 such a powerful and subversive passage.)
Even so, humility was a small or large part of every
person’s behavior depending on one’s social station. The centurion was expected
to be humble in the face of the superior power of a general, and smart to show some
deference to peers who he depended upon in combat. Rome viewed view its world through
this lens of power and humility.
Knowing the importance of power and humility makes
this encounter an even more surprising scene. The centurion had the power simply to say the
word and order something done but he shows a side of power tempered with
humility that we don’t expect. He has compassion for his dying slave (why not buy another slave and train him or her). He sends a local delegation
of Jewish elders to solicit Jesus to come to heal him.
Besides the ideals of Roman virtue, the relationship
of Gentiles and Judaism also shape this event. The Jewish elders are not rabbis or scribes but older lay leaders of the
synagogue; however, the whole religious establishment accepted Roman rule of
Judah even though it was repugnant to a practicing Hebrew. It was an act of hypocrisy done to maintain
their authority and management of the Temple and synagogues. (Let the reader understand.)
Regardless of the matter of Rome rule and some Jewish compromise, the theological relationship between
Romans and Hebrews was complex. A particular Gentile-Jewish relationship may be at play. Even though the centurion was in a position of
authority over the Jewish elders they respected him because he had some respect
for their religious practice. They say he built a synagogue for them (They
are in Capernaum, not Jerusalem where the Temple is located).
Luke
mentioned “God-fearers”
in the Acts of the Apostles. God-fearers were Gentiles
(another word for Romans), probably educated as this centurion who had high
regard for Judaism and its ethical focus and commitment to one God. Even though
the requirements to convert to Judaism were quite difficult and politically
inadvisable, God-fearers often attended synagogue and practiced some forms of
Judaism. That the elders tell Jesus the centurion has built synagogues for them
and is kindly disposed towards them suggest the centurion might be a “God-fearer.”
Now we come to the most important thing the elders
say to Jesus about this centurion, the statement that sets up the climax of this event, “Jesus, this centurion is a good man who has
helped us so he deserves to have you do this.”
The elders don’t sound negative, but their motivation
seems more related to what the centurion can do for them than whether they
think Jesus can heal, or out of respect for his powerful office. They do not say “Jesus we know you can do it, come and
heal this centurion’s slave.”
Jesus heeds the elders and goes back with them
towards the centurion’s residence. The centurion sees Jesus at a distance
coming his way and now sends his friends, a new group, out to meet Jesus. Their message to Jesus strikes at the heart of that of the elders. The centurion
instructed them to tell Jesus not to come further to his abode because
the centurion is unworthy to have the presence of Jesus in his house, or even to
come out to see him where he was teaching.
This is the most surprisingly behavior yet by the centurion. It completely conflicts with what we know about the centurion. It forges his status of power into humility. He is a gentile of high authority granted by the state but
shows an embarrassing display of humility to a Jew. His cohorts might consider scandalous, if not worse.
Only a person of authority who possesses great character and confidence can act so humbly. Let me repeat that, only a person who possesses great character and confidence can hold such power in his hands and
act so humbly.
But the centurion goes far beyond showing great character
and confidence. Remarkably, the centurion says, “I am also a man of power like
you, if I want something done I simply order it done and it is. So, Jesus, I
know you do not even need to come into my home, just say the word heal my slave
from here.” (e.g., "You can do what I cannot.")
The centurion acknowledges the authority of Jesus
is not just equal to, but greater than his!
What motivates this centurion to show such deference? Is it his need for
healing grace for his slave? Is it knowing Jesus might not come because a religious
Jew does not associate with a Gentile? No, it is because he has faith in the authority of Jesus.
Jesus reaction is as remarkable as inexplicable. He completely upsets our world of commonsense in
an absolute reversal of expectations. If we could read Greek, we would understand that Luke tells us that this
centurion’s statement spectacularly amazed Jesus. Luke uses a word for amazed
that is almost exclusively used in the Gospels to describe people’s awe of an
act of Jesus. The word conveys a sense of being stunned, struck dumbfounded, awed by a
divine act.
Jesus is dumbfounded by the act of this gentile centurion’s
faith to acknowledge his divine authority and power. If you remember my Katrina
story about Buddy and the faith his friend had in the crucifix on the
wall, this is the kind of faith the centurion shows. Not hope but faith. An amazed Jesus can only marvel, “Never
in Israel have I seen such faith.”
Jesus is dumbfounded(amazed) by this reversal of events. A gentile centurion
recognizes, honors and believes Jesus for who he is, Emanuel, God who saves us,
yet the elders and most of the religious leaders are oblivious to, if not
enraged by Jesus. You may remember the people of his own hometown drove him
away because were blind to and threatened by his authority.
We have uncovered the important message buried beneath
the obvious. It is a message to those who have authority. It is a message to all of us who exercise even a modest
bit of authority somewhere in their life. If we do not allow the virtue of power to blind us, but embrace humility, it will give us eyes to see the world in a new light. The buried message is not only
that a kind word from power born of grace gets more results than a harsh word,
but that a kind word grows from the virtue of love, humility, and faith; a
harsh word grows from the virtue of power and ego - the focus on self. One
gives sight, the other blinds the eye to grace. One engenders cooperation and
sight, the other breeds resistance and spiritual blindness. A wise person does
not let love of authority blind one to the responsibility and obligation of
faith to work constantly to embrace and model the humility of the highest
authority who gave us the gift of life. To do otherwise follows the folly of a failed ethic.
No comments:
Post a Comment