Humility Accompanies Faith

When we think of faith, many times we think of how we believe God will do special things for us. We “have faith” that God will find us a job. We “have faith” that God will help us get pregnant. We “have faith” that God will find us a new house. It seems we always “have faith” for that God will look favorably upon us, but what about others? Consider today’s Gospel Reading:

Luke 7:1-10 (RSV) - At that time, Jesus entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a slave who was dear to him, who was sick and at the point of death. When he heard of Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his slave. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he built us our synagogue." And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I am a man set 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 he does it." When Jesus heard this he marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude that followed him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.

The centurion wasn’t asking for himself. He wasn’t even asking that Jesus come all the way to his house. “Say the word, and let my servant be healed.” Yes, he was showing his faith that Jesus only had to speak and his servant would be healed, but there is something more in the reading if we open our eyes. Consider the deep humility of the centurion. When was the last time you asked God for a blessing for someone else without any regard for yourself? When was the last time you said, “God, You don’t even have to come to me. Just say a word and that little boy I have never met, whose picture I saw on the internet, will be healed.” When was the last time you didn’t feel blessed because God “heard” YOUR prayers and healed someone?

I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t want God to heal our friends. I’m not even suggesting that we should only pray for complete strangers. But we should consider if our prayers lack the humility of the centurion. Just something to consider as you prepare to attend Divine Liturgy tomorrow. Don’t forget to say your prayers and prepare to receive Holy Communion.