Monday of the First Week of Advent
I was in high school when my teacher handed us a composition notebook and told us it would be our scripture/prayer journal. I did not fill it to the brim with notes and reflections on scripture. I’m not sure I ever wrote in it beyond mandatory assignments. However, it did receive a few words about Jesus, a Centurion and a sick servant. Today we get to return to what over the years has truly become one of my favorite passages.
I selected this as my favorite passage in the gospels because of the centurion. I was enamored with military history and so this unnamed Roman officer caught my attention. The rest was lost on me at the time, but then again, God sometimes plays the long game. Since returning to the faith, I have returned to this passage many times and it continues to feed me. Today, it offers us a two-pronged challenge and one that seems cogent to our struggles in the church today.
The first prong rests in the centurion’s act of faith. His remarkable faith is not merely because he believes Jesus could heal his servant, even at a distance. His faith is grounded in his understanding of authority and obedience. He truly believes that Jesus has authority in this situation. We are not as ingrained to recognize that part of his words. We certainly recognize the request for healing that we echo in every Mass, but do we mirror his firm conviction that Jesus of Nazareth has the authority to command our lives and make demands upon us that challenge us and stretch us?
The second prong is that the centurion’s request is not for himself. Granted, he would benefit from a healthy servant, but he still implores the Lord to heal another. He puts his reputation on the line and confesses a belief in Jesus’ authority for the sake of one who might not have faith in Jesus. He reminds us that the mercy and compassion of God is not only allowed to be active in the lives of those who recognize God’s authority but can be effective in others through our very faithfulness. We can, and arguably should, seek mercy for others that precedes their obedience. This is a challenge for when we give Jesus authority in our lives (after encountering his mercy) we often wish to reverse the order for others. We accept mercy before obedience but then demand obedience before mercy (which is foolish for if we were obedient we would not need mercy!).
These two challenges merged into one man is what makes this reading so cogent for us today. If I may be excused a little bit of over generalizing, the critiques that our two largest camps in the church have for one another pivot on the axis of the centurion. One side is concerned that we are losing sight of Jesus’ authority over our lives and his prerogative to make demands upon us that call us to obedience against our own wishes for ourselves. The other side is concerned that we are making obedience the standard by which one is able to first encounter God’s mercy and compassion thus creating an impenetrable barrier between the sinner and the savior.
The centurion reveals to us that our obedience, which is the fruit of experiencing God’s mercy, opens up tributaries for mercy to flow into the lives of those who don’t yet recognize the authority of Jesus in their lives. The balance of obedience and mercy rests on the axis of the centurion, and as the axiom says, “When in Rome…”
- Spencer Hargadon