The Faith of the Centurion | Matthew 8:5-13

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me, and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will take their places at the banquet with Abraham and

Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.

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“Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word…” These are true words of deep faith. How often has your faith been tested? How strong is your faith? Have you ever questioned your faith and perhaps wondered why it is not as strong as you think it should be? If these are not questions with which you have been confronted or have not asked these questions of yourself, please take the time to do so. Questioning your own faith is not easy. We have been taught and carefully brought up to have faith, yet when asked to describe our faith or what it means, we often stumble over our words.

I never questioned my faith until a little over 10 years ago when I nearly died after suffering a massive heart attack. Not questioning my faith until then was not arrogance; I simply never questioned its existence. My faith was always there, yet after I survived near death, I questioned whether my faith was indeed “always there.” In the days after the event, I seriously questioned my faith because I was unable to accept that I might not have survived. I thought of my parents who knew and accepted that death was coming and embraced the everlasting life that was to come. Yet here was I, not only unable to accept death, but being afraid of it. The surviving, questioning, and understanding that came in the following weeks and months changed my life in just about every way imaginable.

The centurion’s unwavering faith in Jesus is displayed in his love and compassion for his servant and knowing, without question, that Jesus can heal the servant even from afar. Jesus marvels at the centurion’s faith and immediately restores the servant’s health based on the centurion’s faith.

Jesus’ love need not be witnessed to be believed. Faith is defined by recognizing one’s unworthiness and accepting that Jesus’ love is sufficient. Faith is the unequivocal trust in Jesus’ authority. The centurion knew this, and Jesus saw it. As we go forward, may we all go with confidence that Jesus is, and will be, there when needed.

Let us pray:

O Lord, our God, creator of the universe,

Instill in us your love

So that we may live as your servants,

With faith in you and your world.

Peter Teichmann, Deacon Intern

United Lutheran Church of Long Island, Huntington/Melville, NY

Staff Brat 1966 - 1969

Camper 1970 - 1977

Alumni Director 2018 - Present