Trusting It Will Happen

     Sunday we will meet one of those minor, apparently walk-on characters Jesus likes to meet.

     It is a Roman centurion, and one of his servants is gravely ill.  He asks some synagogue leaders tell Jesus about the situation and ask Jesus to heal the servant.  The elders tell Jesus that the centurion is a friend to the synagogue and a worthy man.  Notice that the religious leaders and the relationship of a Roman citizen to the Jewish synagogue in Capernaum is positive and merely taken for granted, somewhat unlike other interactions of Jesus and the authorities.

     So Jesus agrees and sets off to the centurion’s house.  But the centurion send someone to tell Jesus he doesn’t need to show up.  He, after all, as a commander understands that Jesus can just say the word and his servant will be healed; he doesn’t even need to be there.  Jesus, says Luke, is impressed.  If the centurion says to a soldier, “Go,” he will go.  The centurion doesn’t have to check back on him.  So he expects that if Jesus says the servant will get well, he will!  He simply believes Jesus can do it… and that is good enough.  Luke has Jesus marveling at his straight-ahead trust it will happen.

     Part of my family lore is of my great-grandmother, Molly McKinney (yep, a lot of Scots-Irish blood in this Presbyterian!), who was apparently a mighty pray-er.  One of her favorite lines was, “I have to be careful what I pray for, because I will get it.”  By all accounts, she wasn’t showing off or bragging; she just prayed really well and in her trust that things would happen, they did.

     It’s too bad the centurion doesn’t get more publicity in the Bible, because this interaction is one of the most straightforward descriptions of faith.  Ask God.  If God says it, trust it will happen.  Brilliant.

     And remember our UCC motto?

     God is still speaking…!

     May we have such trust, such faith.
                                                                                                          

                                                                              In Christ,
                                                                                David

Please sign up for one of the small, informal conversations during June for people to share their experiences of this church over the years (not just in the past three) so I can understand the landscape and history.  Either email the church at office@fccithaca.org, call the church office at 607-257-6033, or sign up outside the church library and sanctuary on one of the many clipboards.  I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible!


Texts For Sunday Worship:
The Hebrew Bible         1 Kings 18:20-39
The Epistles                 Galatians 1:1-12
The Gospels                 Luke 7:1-10