3rd Epiphany
Matthew 8, 1-13
When he came down from the mountain, large crowds
followed him. And behold, a man with leprosy approached him, and kneeling down
before him said, “Lord, if you are willing, you are able to make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him
saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
And immediately he was cleared of his leprosy. And
Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one. But go and show yourself to the
priests and offer to them the gift that Moses commanded as a testimony of your
cleansing.”
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a Roman captain,
leader of a hundred soldiers, approached him, pleading with him and saying,
“Lord, my boy lies at home, paralyzed, suffering great pain.”
Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
The centurion answered, saying, “Lord, I am not
worthy to have you enter under my roof. Just say a word, and my boy will be
healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. If I say
one word to this one—‘Go, ’ he goes, and if I tell another ‘Come,’ he comes. If
I tell my servant ‘Do this,’ he does it.
Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those
following him, “Amen, the truth I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel
with such great power of trust. And I tell you, that many will come from the
east and from the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham and
Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens. But the sons of the kingdom will
be cast out into the darkness of [godforsaken] external existence, where there
will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go home. Let it be done to you as you have believed.”
And the boy was healed in that hour.
3rd Epiphany
Matthew 8: 1-13
An object cast into the water creates ever expanding, ever
widening circles of ripples. Once they reach the shore, the ripples turn back
toward their origin.
The Gospel reading shows us the expanding circles of
healing. The Jewish leper, alone and outcast, asks for Christ’s willingness for
his own healing. By healing him, Christ carries him to the shore of his own
community.
The Roman centurion asks for healing for his servant.
Perhaps here there is a relationship that needs healing. The centurion clearly
knows how to operate within a power hierarchy—taking orders from above,
commanding those below. Naturally he treats his servant as he would an
underling. But an authoritarian relationship has its limits. Perhaps the boy is
reaching an age, in which an individual’s will needs to begin to exert itself.
The boy’s will, however is paralyzed. By submitting to Christ’s spiritual power
and authority, the centurion steps aside, so that Christ has direct spiritual
and healing access to the boy himself. It is a relationship lesson for all of
us.
The ripples of Christ’s healings expand beyond the borders
of his own people. His healing works within the trust element that anyone
places at His disposal. Physical distance is no hindrance.
In the Act of Consecration of Man, there is the moment when
we too, place ourselves trustingly within the ever-broadening stream of
Christ’s healing will. Like the centurion, we acknowledge that we are not
worthy to have Him enter under our roof. But at the same time, in perfect
trust, we acknowledge the power of His word to heal and to strengthen our own
will. In the words of David Whyte,
It is not enough to know.
It is not enough to follow….
It is not enough to see straight
ahead,
You must go to the place
where everything waits,
there, when you finally rest,
even one word will do,….
One word, one word only.[1]
