Matthew 8:1-13
When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; 2 and there was a leper who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” 3 He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8 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. 9 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.” 10 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. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 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.
I am writing this a week ahead of time, so I can make sure it is into Kathy Whited’s editorial hands in plenty of time. Right now (a week ago to you as you read this), word has come down that Big Ten Football will not happen this fall. The good news in that, as a Michigan fan (Go Blue), I won’t be watching THE University of Michigan getting embarrassed yet again on the football field. There was a day, not so many years ago, when the tables were turned in this rivalry. During the era of John Cooper as coach of that team down south (see it works both ways), Michigan had a much better track record. In fact, at one point in his career, the joke was to name Route 161 in Columbus after Coach Cooper, as that was his record against that team up north – one win, six losses and one tie.
I have told several Buckeye fans that I got to do something many Buckeye fans wish they had the authority and ability to do – I got to tell Coach John Cooper where to go! How many Buckeye fans wish they could have done that?
It happened one afternoon just north of Columbus at Riverside Methodist Hospital. I was there visiting a member of the congregation who recently had surgery. As I made my way through the always-crowded lobby to the bank of elevators, I saw Coach Cooper standing in the lobby, turning in circles, looking every which way, with a puzzled look on his face. I asked him if I could help him find something. He told me he was looking for the parking garage.
And I told him, “It’s right down that hall, sir.”
Yep, I told him where to go!
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
In this Gospel lesson, the centurion understands authority. He knows how to tell people where to go, and when he speaks, those who serve under him listen. He doesn’t need to show them or walk with them. He speaks and expects what is said will be carried out.
The centurion understands authority. The centurion believes that Jesus has authority to speak a word, and that order will be carried out. Instead of having Jesus come and heal, the centurion knows that Jesus is the one who has authority to speak the word and it will happen.
The word. The Word.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:1-5
God speaks, and it happens. God says “Light,” and there is light. Authority.
And the centurion (once again, a foreigner, an outsider) is commended for his faith.
Does God have authority in your life?
Let us pray:
Almighty God, instead of us telling you where we should go, open our ears to hear your word of authority in our lives. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.