The Faith of a Centurion...........

 

Sermon 2^nd June 2013 (Royal Engineers Sunday)

1 Kings 8:22-23; 41-43

Galatians 1:1-12

Luke 7:1b-10

+ In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

I think it’s safe to assume that most of us here, maybe even all of us, are rather familiar with the film, The Wizard of Oz.  It’s the classic story of Dorothy, a young girl from Kansas who finds herself transported to the land of Oz, a vibrant colourful and magical land filled with all sorts of amazing characters.

 As she travels along the Yellow Brick Road to meet the wizard, she meets some very unusual friends, has a number of increasingly surreal adventures, and learns a great deal about friendship, courage, wisdom, caring, and trust. Yet, even as she learns these lessons, at the end of the film she learns that she already had everything that she needed stored up inside of her. This, in fact, is the very lesson that the film, The Wizard of Oz seeks to teach.

 Although it is nice to have powerful friends like the wizard, at the end of the day, Dorothy already had everything she needed to get home. She simply had to look to herself, have faith in herself, and find what she needed somewhere inside herself. Interestingly enough, this is the very lesson that the world is constantly teaching us. As humans, we are constantly told that we can do anything we want. We have the power to affect our lives, all we have to do is look deep enough inside ourselves and we will find everything we will ever need. All we have to do is trust ourselves. But even though this is the lesson that the world is constantly seeking to teach us, Our Lord teaches us a different lesson about faith in our gospel reading this morning.

Our reading from Luke’s gospel speaks to us of the centurion and his servant, and of a bond between them that seems to go beyond that of a master/servant or employer/employee relationship. The centurion would have been a man of influence and some power within the Roman Army. He was a leader and would have been respected by many for his courage. Surely if anyone could find all the resources that were needed deep within themselves it was he!

 Yet here he is, deeply concerned about his gravely ill servant, who is close to death, understanding that even he does not have all the resources within himself to be able to turn the situation around. Some friends alert Jesus to what is happening and he heads to the centurion’s house where the servant lays on his death bed. The centurion being a man used to serving under authority, as well as being a man of authority responds to Jesus’ arrival with both humility and faith, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I do not presume to come to you. But only speak the word and let my servant be healed”.  His concern for the one who was in his care was obvious to all, including Jesus.

As I have already mentioned, we are very often taught and conditioned, by our upbringing or by society to somehow find the answers to our needs within ourselves. The shelves of most bookshops will have large sections devoted to self-help books that will give out that very message. Yet, it is outside of himself and his servant that this man of great influence reaches. He sees no shame…….no weakness in acknowledging his own limits and asking Jesus to heal his servant, his friend!

 We remember today those who have, like the centurion, dedicated themselves to serving others in a way that demands looking beyond themselves. Those members of the Royal Engineer Regiment which is part of our church community here at St George’s, both past and present, will be familiar with the need to put their own desires and ego’s to one side and serve selflessly alongside friends and comrades for a greater good.

I’m sure that each will recognise that no matter how deep within themselves they may search, on their own there is only a very limited amount which can be achieved. On his own the centurion could have possibly eased his servant’s pain or made him a little bit more comfortable, but no more than that. For something, or someone who could really make a difference to the situation he had to look outside of himself and place his faith in Jesus.

And faith isn’t just some abstract idea confined to the four walls of a church, or something best left to the devoutly religious. Faith is something that lies deep within our very selves, which is there to draw upon and strengthen us. Within the highly disciplined environment of a regiment or platoon there is no doubt a great sense of interdependence, trust and yes……faith in one another to work together and protect one another in order to reach a greater goal.

 We place our faith daily in the hands of those who serve us. Here in Kemptown we are very aware of the dedication of the medical staff up the road at the Royal Sussex Hospital. We place our faith in the hands of the police and other emergency services who seek to protect us and keep us safe.

And it is only right for us to acknowledge today that we also place our faith in those who often put themselves in harm’s way in order that we live the lives that we do. Unlike Dorothy back in Kansas, no matter how deep within ourselves we may reach, we can never fully come up with the resources we need to fully attain our goal. We need to look beyond ourselves to those who serve and protect, and ultimately as the centurion did, to Our Lord Jesus.

May we stand alongside the centurion and his servant in acknowledging our own limits, and place our faith in the one who is bound by no limits.

+ In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

AMEN