Faith and Humility in his heart

Faith. Love. Humility.

5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.-Matthew8:5-11

The Romans were once considered the masters of the world. All the countries and peoples they captured, were considered merely their subjects. The centurion - a powerful man - showed much humility before Jesus when he asked for healing for his servant (or slave to some accounts). Just imagine a powerful man humbling himself before a "subject" and asking for help. Above all, the faith of the centurion is something to behold. Normally, we want to see, hear, feel, taste or smell a healing miracle. We want the senses and intellect to be satisfied of its curiosity. "I want to see it," we say. But the centurion so believed in Jesus, that even His Words alone are enough to make miracles and wonders. I cannot help but feel a little irony and sadness. The centurion - a powerful man and hardened by battles, blood and death scenes - believed that Jesus' Words are powerful to make miracles and other majesties. Today, it is hard to convince some people that God is so powerful that His words alone are enough to make wonders and miracles. They much prefer Big Bang, or laws of science and math instead.

Another quality of the centurion that struck me the most is his ability to love. And love is God. Therefore, without him knowing it, he believes in God - in Jesus. Not all Roman masters care for their servants or slaves. If one goes, there are plenty of replacements to choose from. Hey, they can even import from other conquered countries. But the centurion showed love, concern and care for his servant.

Have we shown care to others?

Image courtesy: Radu Oltean (Centurion), Paolo Veronese (Jesus and the Centurion), artist