Excerpt from Luke 7:1-10

"After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.  A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, 'He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.' And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, 'Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed.'"

Reflection by Ron Buford

Using modern language versions of the New Testament, such as The Message or the Spoken English New Testament, one can easily read the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in a weekend.  If you do this, you'll find  there are two traits of Jesus that consistently recur.  Jesus is "filled with compassion" and describes faith as the unwavering decision to believe in the power of God to change the world – despite appearances. Through these, the "kingdom [or Realm] of God" is unleashed in the world.

In Capernaum, Jesus' home base and one of three cities Jesus cursed for its lack of faith, Jesus indirectly encounters a compassionate Roman centurion of great power...and faith. This powerful enemy centurion had enough compassion for the Jews to authorize and build for them a Jewish temple in Capernaum. Grateful Jews implored Jesus to heal their enemy centurion's intimate ailing slave.

The complete inverse of an Old Testament Syrian general, Namaan, who was angry that he had to go to the ancient Israelite prophet Elisha for healing , rather than have Elisha come out to him, this centurion implored the Jewish Jesus to not come, but "only speak the word (albeit from a distance) and let my servant be healed." That centurion's compassion was his slave's salvation, winning the love of those who ultimately seek Jesus on his behalf; his faith decision moved the heart of God to action, through Jesus.

Prayer

Gracious God: May we seek the infilling of your compassion for everyone we meet, including those with whom we live in tension. Help us live so that even our enemies will open doors for us. Give us eyes that recognize open doors. Grant us the faith and courage to walk through them. Amen.

About the Author Ron Buford is Director of Development for the Northern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ.

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