The Glory of Faith

The Rev’d. Stephen E. Stults
Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
St. Barnabas Anglican Church
January 30, 2011
“The Glory of Faith”

Matthew 8:3 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
and
Matthew 8:13 13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

Here we have two remarkable miracles of Christ put together in the same passage of St. Matthew: the healing of the leper and the healing of the centurion’s servant from afar. Both of these have a common denominator, or one common theme.

Before we discuss this one common thing, let’s briefly look at each miracle.

In the first miracle, it is important to note its placement in the Gospel of Matthew. Recall that Jesus was “coming down from the mountain”, that is, He was coming down, just having delivered the most amazing sermon ever delivered, the Sermon on the Mount. Recall that among other things, from this sermon we get the Beatitudes, instructions on divorce and adultery, judging righteously, “an eye for an eye’, the way to give alms, and many other priceless admonitions. It is, and has been, the study of many a Biblical scholar, and worthily so.

Thus, the leper, perhaps having been inspired by Christ’s sermon, dares to approach him and say,
“Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” Something in Christ, or something the leper heard, causes him to draw near and ask. Jesus, in his typical merciful fashion, is moved with compassion and agrees to heal him. Note that the leper was isolated in his misery, as the disease of leprosy was one of the major defilements in the Old Testament. One could not touch, or even receive into one’s house, a person who was leprous without incurring ritual defilement. Recall that such a state barred one from entering the Temple until one went through ritual cleansing. Thus, the leper lived a life of rejection, loneliness and despair.
Yet, in his absolute need, he asked Christ. He asked Christ, not in a diffident manner, but in a way that acknowledged Christ’s authority and power. Not a prayer of doubt, as in “Lord, if it be thy will, I think, maybe, possibly, a healing would be nice.” No, this is a prayer of power and recognition of authority. "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Not, I think you might be able to do it, but “You can make me clean.” It is like, “Say the word, and I will be clean.” His faith prevails and Christ graciously consents to heal him.

Note another wonderful aspect of this miracle. It is the Law of Moses that has been separating this man from society. The Law, while protecting the whole of society, has been very unkind to this individual, almost harsh. It was the fate of all those poor unfortunates who contracted this disease. On the other hand, it is the grace and love of Christ that not only heals him, but brings him back into the fold of society. Picking up a point of St. Paul, whereas the Law can only condemn, the grace of Christ has the absolute ability to heal and restore. This is an excellent example of the contrast of Law vs. Grace. Having faith and having recognized Christ’s ultimate authority over the situation, the leper asks and Christ responds. Finally, Christ commands the man to report to the rabbis for a pronouncement of cleanliness from the disease. This is the final step in the healing process, one which allows him to be readmitted to society. It was also a “testimony” to Christ and to his glory. It clearly shows that Grace has arrived to mankind.

Almost immediately, the passage shifts locale. As Christ enters Capernaum, a second important miracle occurs. St. Matthew tells us that a Roman centurion came to him, beseeching him to come heal his servant, “sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.” When Christ graciously agrees to go heal him, the centurion protests and in a phrase that shows complete humility, says, “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” Many Christians utter this phrase to themselves before Holy Communion as a sign of their own worthiness in receiving the Blessed Sacraments.

Interestingly, St. Luke tells the same story in his gospel, but with a different “twist.” His account has the centurion sending “elders of the Jews” to Christ, because the centurion himself didn’t think himself worthy to meet Christ personally. Being a professional delegator, as all military officers are, he sends an ambassage to Christ, which informs Him that this man is worthy of Christ’s attention, having built a synagogue for the local town in which he was stationed. As an aside, this shows the permanence of the Roman occupation. At any rate, this man was a God-Lover, shown through his actions and his attitude towards the Jews.

In both accounts, Christ is amazed at the faith of the centurion. In St. Luke, He actually turns around and addresses the crowd following him:” I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Then, he addresses the faith of the centurion and says, “Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”

Why is Christ so amazed at this faith? Why should He actually remark on it to the people following Him? Could it be that this “pagan”, this infidel (in the eyes of the Jews), has more faith than the very people to whom Christ was sent? Is it possible?

It is. In fact, Jesus alludes to this very fact when he says, “And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” What a fearsome denunciation of those who reject Jesus Christ! This gentile, while not professing a typical confession of faith in words, does so by his actions. He does so by his faith.

Here we come at last to the common denominator of both these miracles. What quality did both the leper and the Roman centurion have in common? It was faith. It was a faith so strong that it not only recognized Jesus’ authority, but also His ability to direct that authority in a healing and life-giving way. It was a faith that didn’t come through instruction, nor through catechism necessarily, although in the case of the leper there can be no doubt that Christ’s sermon moved him. In the case of the centurion, it was that of a man used to authority seeing true authority in all its implications. This recognition spoke to him and he responded appropriately.

This, of course, begs the question, how do we respond to the authority of Christ? Is He our Lord and Savior? Is He the most important Person in our lives? Finally, does He inspire the kind of faith that the leper and the centurion showed?

It is our prayer that it be so. We pray that you possess or acquire, through Jesus Christ, the kind of faith that can move mountains. We pray that your faith proclaims, in no uncertain words, “Jesus is Lord!” With that kind of faith, we can do anything.

In that regard, do we have the faith to believe that God wants us here as an orthodox expression of historic Anglicanism? Do we have the faith to move forward and build our building, knowing that if we plant the seed in a fertile field, God will grant the increase?

This preacher does. He invites you, the faithful, to put the pieces in place for our long-term success and for our long-term ministry. He invites you to move ahead with the next faithful step towards building the Kingdom of God here in this place.

After all, we are the Church. We are the ones who will spread the Good News of the Kingdom, through our presence and witness in this town and in this community. That includes a physical presence as well, one that people can see.

Let us have the kind of faith that says, “Lord, we know that we are unworthy, but please come in as our guest and dwell with us here in this place. Lord, You are most welcome…” Faith is the difference. It is the difference between success and non-success. It is the difference between joy and despair. After all, in the inspiring words of St. Paul, from Philippians 4:13 ”I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Even so, Amen. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. AMEN.