The
nature of Jesus as healer, social commentary on the relationship between the
Roman Empire and Second Temple Judaism, earthly authority v. divine
authority--all these would make interesting approaches to the study of our
reading today from the Gospel of Luke.
But preaching isn't Bible study.
Rather I believe preaching involves finding a nugget of meaning within
the scriptures offered by our lectionary for today and asking how might we use
that nugget to understand more about God and how our lives can respond to that
understanding.
To
expand the nugget metaphor a bit we might consider how that nugget might be
extracted from the ore of the biblical text.
Then we might want to turn it over in our minds--tumbling might be the
metaphor here--until it becomes a lustrous gem of truth for today. Eternal truths are a bit trickier than this
to discern and may well take centuries to refine by many thoughtful folks, such
as this one: the arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice.
But
for today our task will be to extract of nugget of meaning from the gospel
reading and to turn it over in our minds. For this we need a tool. Tools might
come from a moments in one's life this week, from the news, from a conversation
with a friend or anything that can direct our thoughts more deeply. For me,
this week as I read the gospel passage, the words of Pope Francis helped me
find that nugget of meaning.
Here
are his words as reported online: "The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of
us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone,” the
pope told worshipers at morning Mass on Wednesday. “‘Father, the atheists?’
Even the atheists. Everyone!” Francis
continued, “We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father,
I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”
The
key words for me were these: "But
do good: we will meet one another there."
Some folks were ready to explain away what he said. Oh, he really didn't mean that it was
unimportant whether you were an atheist or a Catholic. He knows that all must
eventually come to God through the Roman Catholic Church. But no, I disagree—Pope Francis seems to be a
man who isn't afraid to take a new and fresh look at how to communicate the
gospel.
This
is what his words mean to me: Jesus'
healing of the centurion's slave allowed disparate folks to meet and experience
God's redeeming love. Jewish elders, an alternative rabbi whom many considered
the long-desired Messiah, a Roman centurion with some disposable income, some
friends of the centurion and the centurion's slave would not have sat down for
dinner together, but they did meet one another in doing good. And in that space of their
"meeting" healing happened, redemption happened.
Lots
of social, political and theological boundaries were crossed in this
event. The centurion cared for the well
being of a trusted and valued slave above and beyond what anyone would have
expected of him. The Jewish elders--with
some financial ulterior motives perhaps--agreed to assist this representative
of the Roman occupation with a mission of mercy. Jesus agreed to help with this mission of
mercy--even though he must have realized he was being "used." The friends of the centurion probably would
not have wanted any dealings with this alternative Jewish rabbi, but they cared
enough about their friend's need to do as he asked.
The
first sign of God's redeeming action was the centurion's humility. As a god-fearing Gentile he had been
attracted to Judaism by its monotheism and by the ethical living spelled out in
the Torah. He recognized a special
authority--one might call it divine authority--shown by the life and teachings
of Jesus. In his humility the centurion
did not require Jesus to come to him to heal the servant, "but only say
the word." And Jesus acknowledged
the centurion's great faith, a second sign that God's redeeming love was
operating in this moment.
Our
nugget of meaning in all of this, I believe, is God's boundless love and God's
ability to act redemptively across all boundaries we humans choose to
erect. As we turn this nugget over and
over again in our minds, do we feel comfortable about it, because that was then
and this is now? Jesus directed his
closing comment about the centurion's impressive faith at the Jewish elders,
not us, right? Let us not get too comfortable!
I believe we must ask ourselves whom would we be uncomfortable sitting
down at the table with? As Jesus was
willing to be "used" to allow space for God's redeeming love to act,
can we find room in our hearts for compassion toward folks that make us feel
uncomfortable? And as the centurion in
humility laid aside the power society gave him, will we be able to step back
from our need for power and control to allow God's healing love to flow into
our lives?
Let's
consider the words of Pope Francis again:
"The
Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us,
not just Catholics. Everyone."
'Father, the atheists?'
"Even
the atheists. Everyone! We must meet one another doing good."
‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an
atheist!’
"But do good: we will meet one another
there.”
And to
this let us respond with a hope-filled "Amen."
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