Heals and Feels

Honestly I don’t really get the story of the healing of the Roman Centurion’s servant. We see Jesus at Capernaum and there are Jewish elders who are likely the ones who are running the synagogue that this Centurion built, and they want Jesus to heal the servant of this man. The word that really gets me is when the elders say to Jesus that this man is worthy of having you do this for him. In other translations and in the Greek it could also mean ‘deserves’ and sometimes could mean ‘proper’ as in that is an expected outcome based on his actions. So the elders feel that because this man loves the Jewish people he is ruling over and built them a house of worship, he deserves to have his slave healed. I just struggle with this idea that somehow this man is worthy or deserving or expected to have Jesus heal his slave because of some things he has done for his community.

There are two possible reasons I came up with that might explain why Jesus went. First is that when the elders speak I mentioned that he loves the Jewish people. Just like I looked up to see what worthy means, I also thought about all the different types and meanings of love that appear in the Greek and I quickly found out that the love that the elders use is agape love. That is the word that is used for the love of God for God’s people or for Christians the love of God as found in Jesus Christ. It is that selfless love that cares about the other. I am sure that Jesus picked up on the word agape being used here instead of one of the other kinds of love and that is what moved him to action. The second possible reason is that Jesus is always about making people whole again whether in mind, body, or spirit and usually in more than just one way. So no matter what the request is or who it comes from Jesus is moved to heal someone who is not well no matter the circumstance or situation.

What happens next is quite an incredible interaction and at the same time still confuses me just a bit. So on the one hand I know that there are cleanliness laws and Jesus probably couldn’t go into the house unless he became ritually unclean in the eyes of the law, but why doesn’t the Centurion ever come and talk with Jesus? Really? We see his power and authority play out very clearly in that he has first sent the elders of the synagogue and now his friends to talk to him, so clearly when his friends tell Jesus that when he says ‘go’ people ‘go’ and when he says ‘come’ people ‘come’. He is at the top of Roman society. He has the power and authority to call and order people around and doesn’t have to do anything himself unless he really has to or wants to do it.

Yet, at the same time it is that exact phrase about saying ‘move’ and people wanting to know just how far they need to go, and ‘jump’ and people asking how high, that causes Jesus to have this feeling of amazement in him. Again I still struggle with this because this is all about this man’s power, yet as I look at the power that he has I see that he seems to understand he has this power and how to use it, but more importantly he recognizes something different in Jesus. With all that authority and military power I don’t think that it is too much of a stretch to say that this man is at the peak of Roman society. He has enough money to build a house of worship and has slaves that do everything for him, and soldiers that he oversees in battle. Despite all of that, despite being at the top of the socio-economic ladder he chooses to come to Jesus for the healing of his slave.

In my mind that weird statement elevates Jesus to his level and even then puts Jesus above him when he says he is not worthy to have Jesus under his roof. This man who is at the very peak of society and probably isn’t ever told ‘no’ or that he doesn’t have clearance or authority to do something or be somewhere recognizes that Jesus is above him. Jesus realizes that the love the agape love that the elders were talking about was truly real and Jesus commends this man’s faith above anyone else and in true 2020-21 fashion heals the slave remotely.

Then in our very next story Jesus is in another town Nain, 31 miles south of where he was in Capernaum, and he walks into a funeral procession. This time there is no request, there might not even be a recognition that this is Jesus and why would they, they are in the middle of a funeral for this widow’s son. Jesus sees this scene unfolding before him: A widow attending the funeral of her only son and a large crowd processing out with her. Jesus is so moved by what he sees and maybe what he knows this means that he can’t help but raise her son from the dead. As a widow with no males in her life she is probably at the very bottom of society. Clearly there is a large crowd supporting her today and maybe they will help her here and there, but there is no doubt that a woman without any men in her life would make her life one of the hardest to live. She is basically the polar opposite of the Centurion. She is a single woman in a very patriarchal society and will likely have a hard time getting by day to day. Jesus’ action of raising her son gives her that security back in her life, gives her a life to live again, both because she has her son back, but also that she has someone who will be able to ensure her socio-economic future.

The phrase that I love from this second story is from everyone when they say “God has looked favorably on his poeple”. I love it because it reminds me of what Zechariah says when his mouth is opened at the naming and circumcision of John the Baptist in Luke 1:68. The crowds and everyone there recognize Jesus as a blessing from God and that God looks favorably on God’s people.

What I love about these stories being back to back in the Gospel of Luke is that we see how Jesus shows no difference in the way that he interacts with people. He is lifted up to the highest status by the Centurion and cares for the slave in the same way that he cares for the widow in the second story who as I mentioned is the polar opposite in the socio-economic ladder from the centurion. Jesus, as I mentioned in my description about the stories this week is all about the heals and feels. Jesus is amazed at the faith of the Centurion and is moved at the situation of the widow and he cares for them exactly where they are. There is no differentiation between the two. There is no favor shown to one over the other. The only favor is that shown to all people as the crowds rightly point out. Jesus has come for all people in all circumstances and sometimes that healing looks different depending on the situation, but nevertheless Jesus offers healing to those who are in need of it. That is where I ultimately land with my heart on this text. Everyone who is in need of healing should receive healing. Each of us should both offer healing and accept the healing power of Jesus when we can give it and when we need to receive it. Jesus offers it freely to all who are in need and may we be open to the ways that Jesus comes to us and offers us life, love, and hope for the future as he did for the Centurion and the widow. Amen.