Devotions
Rev Gav
Simply
Matthew 8.5-13
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 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. 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.” 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. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will take their places at the banquet with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.
Reflect
Although Galilee was not occupied by the Romans at the time, there was a Roman garrison at Capernaum, and the centurion (a Roman soldier) approached Jesus for help with healing a beloved servant boy. We know that the servant was precious to the centurion for three reasons: firstly, because he used the Greek word ‘pais’ rather than the more common term, ‘doulos’, secondly, in the account in Luke’s gospel, the servant was ‘highly valued’, and thirdly, the centurion went through great lengths to secure help for him.
Now, Bible scholars have long debated as to whether the R0man soldier was in a homosexual relationship with the servant boy as there are references to this kind of relationship — those who are ‘malakos’ (effeminate, soft, sexual males) — in nearby verses in Luke’s version, and it was not without precedent that Roman centurions (and other males in authority) should have such ‘boys’ in their care. The nature of these relationships could be anywhere from abusive to loving, and certainly, abusive pederasty (men having non-consensual sex with boys) was condemned by the Jewish community.
The truth is, we just don’t know if the Roman Centurion was in a sexual relationship with the servant boy, but we do know that it was a loving or precious relationship. Either way, the Centurion admits he is ‘not worthy’ for Jesus to come to his house which is an admission that he practices ways different or incompatible with those of the Jewish faith. The lesson to us is that Jesus doesn’t engage with any of the backstory. He doesn’t dig into the nature of the relationship, the status of the centurion’s religious beliefs, nor his national identity or lineage — he simply heals the servant.
Jesus wasn’t blind to people’s lives and circumstances, and he fully recognised who was standing before him, yet he exclaimed, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith!”
As ambassadors for Christ, called to go out into the world to proclaim Jesus as Lord and be witnesses to God’s love, we do not judge or condemn those we seek to reach. We don’t investigate or dissect someone’s backstory, but be bringers of God’s joy, peace, and healing.
Photo by Charles Postiaux on Unsplash
Pray
Holy God
Your compassion
shines through the
social and cultural
barriers we place
between each other.
Like you, may I be
a bringer of your love,
joy, peace, and healing
to those I encounter.
This day and forever.
and then