Christian Art | The Centurion’s Faith | King James Audio Bible KJV
Luke 7: 1-10 – Week 24 Ordinary Time, Monday (King James Audio Bible KJV, Spoken Word)
NOW when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.
2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.
3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.
4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:
5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.
6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:
7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
10 And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.
‘Domine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea.’ ‘Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.’
With these words, so many of us will seek to rid ourselves of bad thoughts before receiving communion. We have recollected ourselves in silent time to examine our consciences, we have confessed, we have listened to readings from Scripture – and even in that short time following there has been time to sin anew, as also there is heightened awareness of our sins, and too of inherent sinfulness.
To people who are not Christians, this might sound like a bleak situation! As Christians, we know that really the situation is entirely the opposite. Even now, as the Mass is well under way and as we are about to receive the body and blood of Christ, at the eleventh hour, as it were, there is a further opportunity to repent and to ask God’s forgiveness. Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.
This prayer can mark the approach to the summit of the Mass. We have prayed the Lord’s prayer, and we have offered one another the sign of peace, which is a sharing of such sincere joy at being together with Jesus. Now we find ourselves readying ourselves once more for a further meeting with God – a welcoming into ourselves of God. Even as we are in community, sustained by community, we are also individually present before God. There is no hiding anything now. We must give ourselves utterly – warts ‘n’ all.
The ways in which we respond to this situation are indicative of the joy of Christian faith. When we are called to meet with God, and when we can hide nothing, we know that because of what Jesus did we can say sorry, we can acknowledge to God that we are not worthy of His love, and then can bow our heads and rejoice and relax and accept His saving presence in our lives. ‘Lord, I am not worthy.’ This is God’s grandeur: God loves us just the way that we are.
Concluding Prayer | Love Revealed By Jesus Christ
Lord God,
who entrusted the earth to men
to till it and care for it,
and made the sun to serve their needs:
give us grace this day to work faithfully for your glory
and for our neighbour’s good.
We make our prayer through our Lord.
King James Audio Bible | Endnotes
The Centurion’s Faith
The story of the Centurion’s faith, found in Luke 7:1-10, is a powerful testament to the power of faith, humility, and the authority of Christ. In this story, a Roman Centurion comes to Jesus, requesting that he heal his servant who is sick and about to die. What is remarkable about this request is not just the fact that a Roman soldier is asking for the help of a Jewish healer, but the faith that the Centurion displays in his request.
We also recognize the love of the Centurion for his servant. Perhaps we might sense more of a protégé rather than a slave. That there should be such love within the Roman military might well seem a promise of goodness both to come and already.
The Centurion, recognizing Jesus’ authority and power, states: ‘Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.’ (Luke 7:6-7) This statement displays a profound humility and faith, as the Centurion acknowledges that he is unworthy to have Jesus come to his home and heal his servant, but believes that Jesus has the power to heal from a distance, simply by speaking the word.
Such is the power of the Centurion’s words that they are paraphrased within the ritual of the Catholic communion: ‘Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.’
This kind of faith is not unique to the Centurion, but is a recurring theme throughout the Bible. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as ‘the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen’, and this faith is demonstrated time and again by those who trust in God’s power and authority. In the Old Testament, Abraham believed God’s promise that he would have a son, even though he and his wife were advanced in years and barren (Genesis 15:6). Similarly, in the New Testament, the woman with the issue of blood believed that if she touched Jesus’ garment, she would be healed (Matthew 9:20-22).
This kind of faith is not limited to individuals, but can also be displayed by communities of believers. In Acts 4:23-31, the disciples of Jesus pray for boldness and the power to perform signs and wonders in Jesus’ name, and their prayers are answered when the place where they are meeting is shaken and they are filled with the Holy Spirit.
In this, the Magnificat, Mary’s soul overflows with joy as she contemplates the wonderful blessing God has bestowed on her, surpassing indeed the gifts to any other person in history. Through her obedience and humility, Mary has been magnified herself by the Lord, such that we now recognize her greatness and call her blessed – each day, indeed, as we recite or sing the canticle as part of evening prayer [ … ]
Sometimes, when I read my Bible, I pause in the reading and say to myself: ‘This bit’s real.’ It would be fair to say, I have issues with Mary, because, contrary to what we are taught to say, Mary isn’t my mother. Rather: Mum is. One bit of the Bible-text says this: And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for people were saying, “He is beside himself.” … And his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Mark 3: 21; 31-35.) Here she comes. She is in considerable distress. I can imagine that. I can relate to that. To save her boy from whatever he’s got himself into this time. And you’re not telling me there isn’t something inside that. Her boy is beside himself. Radical. Radicalized. Radicalizing. A misunderstood word. /ˈradɪk(ə)l/ adjective & noun. 1 Forming the root, basis, or foundation; original, primary. 2a Inherent in the nature of a thing or person; fundamental. b Of action, change, an idea: going to the root or origin; far-reaching, thorough. c Advocating thorough or far-reaching change. d Characterized by departure from tradition; progressive; unorthodox. ‘He has a demon! And he is mad!’ – thus ‘the Jews’. (e.g. John 10: 20.) Come home! It’s all she wants. His family want him back now. But it is an exclusive cult: there is an inside and there is an outside; and on the outside, they are not meant to understand, lest they be converted. He has defined himself as different from anything she was. Only at the end does Jesus say to his Mum – and with savage, bitter irony: ‘Woman, behold your son.’ And then he dies. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. We ask that we might find Mary in our hearts as a Yes! place for Jesus. It is also recommended that we pray to Jesus that we may be further in oneness with Mary. It is self-emptying, such that we only exist insofar as we are responsive to God’s Word. * Last term, and put-out to pasture, the old Archbishop Emeritus came over to stay for a few days and did the odd class with us. He spoke of Yes! as the meaning of Mary’s virginity. And we were not very nice about him. One or two took umbrage. One or two got the hump. In a sense, his Grace, the Arch, basically wanted to move anyone he’d ever known from a high-place – a mountain – received theological ‘truth’ – to an imminent, human plane. Earthing the spiritual. Recalibrating metrics of life’s believability toward a spiritual sense of things. He might have asked the impermissible question: what happened? His Grace described it. God’s love as a cloud. This descended upon Mary – and subsumed her. Within the cloud, Mary capitulated utterly. She became only and purely a response to God’s love. As he spoke, the Arch cradled her. He carried her in his lap – in his hands. His Grace was a consecrated bishop. He was faith. He sat squat, a rounded man, hands cupped and ankles crossed, fingers interlocked, with parted thighs. Rumpled, washed, speckled. A lifetime’s skin… There could be no doubt His Grace spoke through long-term personal relationship with Mary. It was Julian went for him: ‘So are you saying Mary was a Virgin? Or are you not saying Mary was a Virgin?’ Nasty. No, it wasn’t pretty. Julian twisting his silver ring. For a moment, what Julian had said to the Arch simply failed to communicate. No, for a moment, that dumped on the air meant nothing. Then His Grace said: ‘There is a range of possible meanings we may understand in the question of Mary’s virginity. For example, there are understandings of the word virginity entailed in the action of giving birth.’ Julian said: ‘Duh! So had she had sex or hadn’t she?’ Trigger words. No, it wasn’t pretty. On that went for a little while. At length, Julian’s point seemed reluctantly conceded. Then the Arch told us a new story, an additionally human event, the more to baffle us. Controversially, he told us that Mary could not have been Joseph’s first wife, for this would not have been the way of things in the society of that time. His belief was that Joseph must have taken Mary into his household through pity. That would be normal, he said, for Joseph to bring a young, vulnerable girl, who is about to have a baby, within his protection, not meaning to enjoy with her marital relations, but through kindness. ‘And this story of the inn and stable,’ the Archbishop said, ‘it can’t have been like that really. Joseph has travelled with Mary to stay with his family, at home in Bethlehem, and they don’t want Mary in their house, for reasons which I am sure we can understand. It must have been there was considerable resistance to Mary. But Mary gives birth, and who can resist a baby? That’s what happened. It must have been. ‘I’m convinced that must have been how it happened really.’ Later that term, toward the beginning of Advent, we met boys who had been here before, in Valladolid, and now were in regular seminary. They had heard and recited verbatim all the Archbishop had said to them. Their spot-on impressions of each of the fathers were scathing. […]
In these Gospel verses, Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives with his disciples, and at a particular place, Jesus separates himself to pray. Jesus urges his disciples to pray against temptation. In his prayer, Jesus expresses his desire for the cup of suffering to be removed but ultimately submits to God’s will. An angel appears from heaven to strengthen Jesus, and Jesus prays with such intensity that his sweat becomes like drops of blood falling to the ground [ … read more and listen … ]
