June 28th, 2026: Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: On the faith of the Centurion

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and

of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Today we meet the centurion

coming to Jesus to ask for help with his paralyzed

young servant, a Roman, and thus a Gentile, non

-Israelite. The centurion recognizes and states

plainly, His unworthiness before Jesus, whom

he repeatedly calls Lord twice in a short passage.

Not simply a title for Jesus, like despot or

master, but Kyrios, a designation for the name

of Israel's God, said by a Gentile. Besides that,

being a Gentile, the centurion knows. that he

is not worthy of Jesus to come into his house,

even though Jesus is willing to come and be present

with his young servant. Because of his human

servants, those who are under his authority,

the centurion reasons that he himself doesn't

always have to be physically present to get something

done. Understanding what it is to have authority,

the centurion can tell so -and -so servant to

do something and it somehow gets done. And to

tell another so -and -so something and it somehow

gets done. Unlike the centurion, however, since

Jesus is Lord, Kyrios, as Lord, he himself doesn't

technically need to be there. does he need human

servants to carry out his will? Technically speaking,

Jesus can simply say a word according to this

Roman centurion, and this centurion's young servant

will be healed. In this way, the Gentile, the

Roman, the Gentile centurion mysteriously utters

the words of the Israelite psalmist. He sent

out his word and healed them and rescued them

from their pit or corruption. And it's at this

point that Jesus marvels. Jesus is amazed. Jesus

wonders, saying to his followers, not technically

the centurion, but to his followers, not even

in Israel. The best rendering. Not even in Israel

have I found such faith. And repeats to the centurion

something the Roman authority figure would himself

say to a servant. Go, but adds these words, let

it be done for you as you have believed. as the

servant is immediately healed from a distance.

For us, the story clearly wants us to examine

our faith. What kind of faith do we have? Throughout

Matthew's gospel, faith appears in three different

ways and in three different degrees. types of

faith, or perhaps you could say it's kind of

a spectrum of faith. We could think of faith

from one way, as an intellectual assent that

Jesus is who he says he is. There is that in

the Gospel of Matthew. We could think of faith

a second way, as a trust in Jesus that produces

loyalty, faithfulness. And obedient to him. That's

there in Matthew as well. But there is a third

faith. And a faith that Jesus is in fact looking

for. A belief in Jesus' power to work wonders.

A belief in Jesus' power to overcome obstacles

that seem impossible. And typically used. This

faith is typically used to help someone else.

What Jesus calls a faith that can move even mountains.

That last kind of faith is the faith that overcomes

the exclusion of Gentiles in the kingdom of God.

In Matthew's gospel where Jesus very clearly

states that he was only sent. for the lost sheep

of the house of Israel. That last kind of faith

is the kind of faith that produces healing, salvation,

help, and new life. In all of Matthew's gospel,

only twice, only two times, does Jesus respond

to a Gentile's request. Here with this Roman

centurion, and seven chapters later with the

Canaanite woman. to have Jesus help her daughter,

whom Jesus only helps after calling her a dog

and telling her that he has come simply for the

lost sheep of Israel's house. I think it's hard

for us, most of us here who are Gentiles, to

really feel the weight of that reality and fact.

Up until this point, that was a reality and fact.

And it isn't until the end of Matthew's Gospel

that Jesus actually tells the apostles to go

forth into the world and make disciples of all

nations, to make disciples of all the Gentiles,

even non -Israelites, only after he resurrects

from the dead, because it's the resurrection

that tears down the divisions between Jew. and

Gentile. But here we see a faith that believes

in that same power, that same power that bursts

forth from the resurrection against an inability

towards life and a faith that is present even

in absence and across distances. Jesus promises

to his followers that more will come like this

centurion, Gentiles, non -Israelites, who will

share in this kind of faith, a faith that will

seat them at the same table next to Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob, next to Abraham, who was ready

to offer his own son up in faith, knowing, knowing

that God's power could revive him even from the

dead, as Hebrews tells us. And Abraham, who believed

that God can overcome the barrenness of his wife,

who was so aged, Sarah, just like Isaac and Jacob

believed that God could overcome the barrenness

of their wives, Rebecca and Rachel. Next to Jacob,

at that same table who trusted that God could

bring his supposedly dead son Joseph back to

him after the two were separated for years and

years and years. We could go on. The centurion

exemplifies a similar kind of faith, a faith

in Jesus to overcome seemingly desperate situations,

to overcome distance. To let go of manipulation

and control and not try to co -opt Jesus for

one's own end. Because Jesus is kind, he has

enough space in himself, as it were, to deal

with control freaks. And he even has mercy on

them. But according to Matthew, it's the ones

who let go of their control. that sense their

unworthiness, that they should not even be near

him, that trust that Jesus will act and be there

to help, even when he doesn't seem to be there

at all. Those are the ones that Jesus looks at

their faith, and Jesus wonders, Jesus marvels

in their ability to look past obstacles. and

to put their faith in him to act in their life.

It's this kind of faith that he likens unto Abraham,

that trusts in the power of Christ's resurrection,

even Jesus as the resurrection and the life.

And of course, it holds up a mirror to us, brothers

and sisters. What kind of faith do we have vis

-a -vis Jesus? And why do we come here every

week to sit at the table with Abraham, Isaac,

and Jacob? Because after all, that's what we're

doing when we come here. We come to the table

next to Abraham and all the rest of the saints,

upon which we offer ourselves as living sacrifices

through the bread and the wine to the Father

with Christ our God, who though being God, and

fills all space and time, is not here in the

way we humanly think he might be, but is at the

right hand of the Father. And nevertheless, by

the power of the Holy Spirit, he becomes here,

and is in fact here, because the Father and the

Spirit make him present to us, even in the bread

and the wine, as they become his flesh and blood

for our... remission of sins and our eternal

life. And so we might ask ourselves as we come,

as we come to recline at table, is our faith

simply a faith of intellectual assent? We believe

Jesus is God. We come here. We might even sing

the creed loudly. But that's pretty much all

it is coming for us. In his mercy, and because

he knows our weakness, he knows that we are dust.

In his mercy, Jesus will accept that. Is our

faith a faith that believes all those things,

but then tries to step in to the life of Jesus

in obedience, in allegiance, in loyalty? in many

prostrations, in much fasting, in coming to church

often, in a scrupulosity to our righteousness,

in many prayers, in obedience. And yet it feels

like we are always working and working and working

where we don't reach much satisfaction or life.

Now, in his mercy, because Jesus is kind and

Jesus knows that we are weak, Jesus will accept

that. Or, is our faith a faith that trusts Jesus

to move mountains in our life? To traverse time

and space in our life? For our sakes and the

sakes of those whom we love, because... He has

raised himself from the dead, and nothing can

separate us, nothing can separate him from us,

or us from him, because he loves us, and he has

poured out the love of God in our hearts by giving

us the Holy Spirit. We need to believe that Jesus

is God, but if our faith doesn't surpass intellectual

assent, we may begin to get to that point where

we wonder, what exactly are we doing here? What

is the point of our faith? Why don't I just sleep

in on Sunday and wake up to that nice cup of

coffee? Maybe I'll walk my dog and have some

time for myself once in a while. We need to be

faithful and obedient. To Christ. Allegiance.

Pledge allegiance to him. Be loyal to him. But

if our faith doesn't surpass faithfulness and

obedience. We may never see Jesus more than a

brutal taskmaster. Which is what we might learn

to see him as. Just like the older son. in the

parable of the prodigal son, when he looks at

his father and says, I have been slaving for

you. For how many years have I been trying to

please you? And misunderstands the whole point.

If our faith is like that, we may never see Jesus

more than that. We might only think of him as

someone who just demands a bunch of things from

us that we have to do as we don't really understand

even why, and we then become crippled under the

severe weight of it, never feeling like we can

get up, as we try to do a bunch of things that

Jesus likely didn't even ask us to do. But if

our faith breaks through, to this third kind

of faith. If ascent and faithfulness yields to

a faith of freedom and life and healing, a true

trust and confidence in him to keep us, a faith

that knows that Jesus wants to help us, that

Jesus has our best in mind, that Jesus will never

let us go, that Jesus will change us. And even

those around us. A faith which works through

love. A faith that acts without needing to feel

like we need to co -opt or control or manipulate

Jesus somehow. Or earn something from him. And

always leave unsatisfied. Because we can't realize

that's not actually what it's about. But a faith.

aware of its unworthiness and aware of our limitations,

that we are dust, that we are broken, that we

are Gentiles, most of us here. But knowing that

Jesus can conquer death, distance, and his absence,

brothers and sisters, is not actually absence

at all, but presence with us by his Holy Spirit.

The power to make the change in our lives again

and again and again. What we ask the Lord to

do. Every divine liturgy at the table over the

bread and the wine. This is the kind of faith

that Jesus marvels at. This is the kind of faith

that Jesus is amazed at. That Jesus wonders in

his people. That makes his saints wondrous and

glorious in him. This is the kind of faith that

reminds Jesus of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.

May God help us acquire this kind of faith. Amen.