Hello my dear
It’s a beautiful day. The Son is shining and we’re on God’s mind. What about – I’m not sure, but if we walk by faith, being on God’s mind is good. Please receive today’s Holy Nougat
“When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him to ask Jesus to come and heal his servant. …
So Jesus went with the men. He was getting near the officer’s house when the officer sent friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, because I am not worthy to have you come into my house.” Luke 7:3, 6 NCV
If one is unfamiliar with this healing story, it may seem odd that the officer sent elders to get Jesus. We may even wonder why – was it an act of disrespect; power plays or something else. As an officer, he was likely to have been Roman, from the ruling class (read people), and part of the problem of martial law. Operatively, Jesus should be rushing to do his bidding; so sending for Jesus could be misconstrued as dominance.
At least until we get the back story – he, that is the officer, was aware of the offensiveness of his profession. The ‘blood’ on his hands made him feel unworthy to be entertaining Jesus as though they were peers. He knew that his titles carried no currency with God.
But his faith did.
And that’s what Jesus SAW in the strange request.
The centurion was not even believing Jesus for his own healing; he was interceding for his slave. And, while we may argue semantics, the fact is; though the slave was valuable to him, slaves were considered dispensable. He, as a Roman officer, was absolutely not obliged to seek healing for a slave. What we see is the officer’s compassion and kindness.
It is noteworthy that it was Jewish elders who made intercession with Jesus. They would have had every reason to thwart the officer (unless the slave was a relative), yet they didn’t. Visibly placing their trust in Jesus, they made the appeal.
And Jesus heard them.
He heard what they testified, and what they could not say (the backstory), and Jesus accompanied them to see the officer and his servant.
So, what are the incongruous things in our contexts requiring just a little more attention before we draw incorrect conclusions? Do we need to prayerfully ponder?
More critically, had we been the Roman officer, would anyone be willing to to vouch for our character in intercession, despite the difference in status and political locations? In other words, what is our own backstory?
May God’s love be found in us today and always.
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
