What makes for a great athlete? It’s more than athletic ability isn’t it? There have been plenty of people who could run fast and jump high who never made it in the big leagues. It’s because they either weren’t team players or their work ethic was lacking. While others were willing to put hours in at the gym, these slackers thought that their athletic ability alone would carry them through. And they got upset and finally quit when coaches suggested they work harder.
Have you ever thought of what makes for a great faith? As Christians we should each be striving to have such a faith, and yet could it be that we have contented ourselves with a “mediocre” Toyota-Corolla-faith that will get us to heaven, but not a Dodge-Viper-faith that will dazzle along the way? What makes for such a great faith? It’s a faith that is unselfish, unassuming, and unwavering. It’s the faith that a Roman centurion demonstrated in our Gospel lesson this morning. I want to share his story with you from the perspective of a Jewish leader who was his friend.
Shalom! My name is, well it doesn’t really matter what my name is because this true story isn’t about me. It’s about my friend, the Roman centurion. What was his name? Well I’m not going to tell you that either because my friend, the centurion, would insist that this story is really about Jesus and not about him.
While I grew up in Capernaum, a nice little town on the Sea of Galilee some 200 km north of Jerusalem, my friend, the Roman centurion, did not. We never found out where he was from, but all we thought we needed to know about him was that he was from the dreaded Roman government. As a commander of a hundred hardened Roman soldiers, his job was clear: keep us in line! And the Romans did that with a brutal efficiency which made us pray every day for God to clear them out.
But there was something different about this new centurion. He actually took an interest in us as a people. He treated us with respect and even wanted to learn more about our religious ways. At first we thought he was just doing this to win our favor. But not only did he end up professing faith in the God of Abraham, he actually built us a place of worship called a synagogue! Just think of how amazed and grateful you would feel if an important official, like the head of the RCMP, not only became a member of your congregation, but also paid for the building of your new church!
You see, this is the first thing that makes for a great faith. A great faith is unselfish. This centurion could have kept his wealth and built himself a wonderful mansion overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Instead he spent it on a house of worship. And sure, while he got to benefit from attending the worship services that went on there, we all knew that this centurion could be relocated at any time. In that sense there wasn’t really much in it for him to build the synagogue.
The centurion was a kind man, but this didn’t mean he didn’t have hardships. In time, one of the centurion’s favorite slaves became very sick. What struck me was how concerned the centurion was about his slave. I mean as a man of wealth he could afford to buy another slave if this one died. So why fuss? Well, because this centurion was a man of faith. And as I said before those with great faith are unselfish. And so this centurion showed his unselfish concern for his slave when he did everything he could to save him. But the doctors were no use.
That’s when we received word that Jesus of Nazareth was on his way back to Capernaum. Jesus had already healed a demon possessed man in our synagogue. And there was another royal official from Capernaum whose son Jesus had healed just by saying the word even though he had been 40 km away in the town of Cana at the time! So our Roman centurion was sure that Jesus could help, but he was reluctant to go and ask for help himself. And so he sent a number of us religious leaders from Capernaum. Well, we were happy to do this for the man. After all he had done so much for us! And so when we found Jesus we pleaded with him to heal the servant, pointing out how the Roman centurion was deserving of this favor.
I found out later how my centurion friend was embarrassed that we had put it this way. In fact when Jesus did agree to go with us to his home, the centurion sent out more of his friends to intercept Jesus before he arrived. Through his friends he told Jesus that he was not deserving of having Jesus come under his roof, nor did he even feel worthy to meet Jesus himself in person. And no, this wasn’t just the Roman centurion acting humble so as to ensure that Jesus would help. He really felt undeserving of any attention Jesus was giving to him. This is another thing that makes for a great faith—it’s unassuming.
The centurion did not assume Jesus would come to help him because he had done some nice things like build our synagogue. Instead when the centurion heard that Jesus was coming his way it seems that he could only think of his sins! Perhaps he was thinking about some foolish things he had done as a teenager. Or how he had mistreated his troops the previous week. Or how he had made fun of a superior officer. Or how he had built our synagogue partly hoping to win our favor.
The centurion’s example was an eye-opener for me. You see, we Jewish religious leaders are often known for trumpeting our good deeds. We want others to know that we’ve helped the poor, or that we fast more times than God commanded. And even though you may not be as obvious, I wonder if you don’t often pray to God with the expectation that God should listen to you because after all you serve on the church council, or you keep this church going with your generous offerings. Or you feel God should say yes to your prayers because you’ve kept your nose clean…more or less. But that doesn’t make for a great faith. A great faith continues to be unassuming no matter what it is that we have accomplished. After all, even if you give your time, talents, and treasures faithfully it’s because God has empowered and motivated you to do this. Just as a sailing ship is dependent on the wind to move it forward, we are dependent on God to move us in the direction of doing what is right.
There was one more thing that made the centurion’s faith great and it was how unwavering he was in his trust and confidence that Jesus could do something to help if he wanted. Now those who are unassuming in their faith often struggle with this unwavering part. On one hand they readily admit that they are unworthy of any help from God, but then conclude that God would never help them. Not this centurion. He trusted that Jesus was compassionate and powerful. He knew that if Jesus wanted, he could heal the slave. The centurion was so confident in Jesus’ power that he confessed that Jesus didn’t actually have to be present to work a miracle. If Jesus would just say the word, that would be enough.
The centurion’s attitude helped me come to appreciate the power of God’s Word. He explained that as a Roman officer he knew how words had power. For he himself could say to a soldier “Go!” and he would go. Or he could say to another “Come!” and he would come. Nothing else was needed other than a command. And so the centurion trusted that if he himself had that kind of power, then Jesus, who was the Son of God, could do anything with his words. He knew that Jesus could simply say to a disease, “Go!” and it would have to go. And that’s what happened. Jesus spoke the word right where he was still a ways from the centurion’s house, and the servant got better.
We weren’t the only ones impressed with the centurion’s faith. So was Jesus! In fact Jesus said that he had not found such great faith, even among us Israelites. The lesson here, dear members of St. Peter Lutheran Church, is that you don’t have to be a pastor for God to say that you have great faith. You don’t have to be on the church council either. You don’t even have to be an adult or have to have been a Christian for a very long time. God considers great faith to be unselfish, unassuming, and unwavering.
So how often have you displayed such faith? If you’re like me, not very often. And that’s a sin. Because it’s God’s will that we all have great faith. But all too often we get wrapped up in ourselves and don’t show true care and concern for others. Or we get upset when we don’t think God is treating us fairly. When we get sick or when we struggle with paying the bills we think this shows that God doesn’t really care about us. But the thing is, our lives ought to be a lot worse than they are. Every one of us should be in hell right now. Great faith, remember, is unassuming. It doesn’t assume God owes us anything other than his anger.
But great faith is also unwavering. It latches on to God’s promise of forgiveness and on to his promise to give us what we need to survive each day. So stop worrying, even if you’re health isn’t great or your job prospects aren’t fantastic. You have a God that is both great and fantastic and what’s more he cares about you!
Just how much does your God care about you? While I was privileged to be one of the friends that the centurion sent to speak with Jesus, it struck me afterwards how that’s what Jesus does for us. He goes to the heavenly Father on our behalf and he intercedes for us. But he doesn’t say how worthy we are to receive the Father’s love, instead he points to himself and the sacrifice for sin he offered and because of that declares that we are ready to receive the Father’s favor.
Your pastor began this sermon by talking about what makes for a great athlete. Would anyone consider you to be a great athlete? Perhaps not, but through the power of God’s Word, and through your Savior Jesus you can be someone of great faith—someone whose faith is unselfish, unassuming, and unwavering. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
How did the Roman centurion demonstrate an unselfish faith? How can you demonstrate such a faith this week?
How did the Roman centurion demonstrate an unassuming faith? Why do we often struggle to demonstrate such a faith?
What does it mean that the Roman centurion had an unwavering faith? What reasons do you have for demonstrating such a faith?
In what was the centurion’s friend (the religious leader) like Jesus? In what way was he different?
