1.
Grace,
mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father, and our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. The message from God’s
Word this 2nd Sunday after Pentecost is taken from Luke 7:1-10. Here we see the power of our Lord Jesus to
speak a word of grace and mercy, a word with authority, and a word that heals a
Roman soldier’s servant. The message is
entitled, “Faith Says, Say the Word,” dear
brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
The
movie, Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg,
wrestles with profound moral questions and highlights the debt of gratitude we
owe to those who gave their lives for ours. The film opens with a harrowingly realistic
reenactment of the D-Day invasion of Normandy. We see the action through the
eyes of Capt. John Miller, played by Tom Hanks. Following D-Day, Hanks learns
that he is to lead a search party to find a certain Private Ryan, whose three
brothers have just been killed in action. The last living son is to be sent
home to his grieving mother. But no sooner do Miller and his party begin their
search for Ryan behind German lines than a startling Pandora's box of moral
questions is opened: Why are all these men risking their lives to save one man?
Don't they have mothers, too? As first one, and then another of the soldiers in
the rescue party is killed, the questioning intensifies. After all, just how
much is one man's life worth? The answer comes in a stunning scene at the end
of the film. It's now 50 years later and Private Ryan is visiting the graves of
the men who saved him, who literally gave their lives for his. "I lived my life the best I
could," he says to their gravestones. "I hope in your eyes I've earned what you've done for me."
Distraught, Ryan turns to his wife: "Tell
me I've led a good life, tell me I'm a good man." "You are," she answers him. But the
answer isn’t convincing. And how could it be? Behind Ryan's question is the
reality that however good you are and however much you've accomplished in your
life, you can never, ever repay such a debt.
3.
It's a stunning moment, because we
too, this Memorial Day weekend, think of our debt to the 18-year-old kids who
jumped off those landing boats into a hail of bullets in WW II, and in the
other wars the soldiers of our nation’s armed forces have fought. How do we
repay a debt like that? We have to admit with humility that we can’t. The Roman Centurion in today’s Gospel lesson
understands this fact too. In the same
way, God Himself gave His Son's life, that we might live. That we have our sins forgiven and eternal
life. He’s the one who makes us worthy
in God’s sight.
4.
Luke 7:1-10 says, “1After [Jesus] had finished all his sayings in the hearing
of the people, he entered Capernaum.
2Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death,
who was highly valued by him. 3When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to
him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4And when they
came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have
you do this for him, 5for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us
our synagogue.” 6And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house,
the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for
I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7Therefore I did not presume to
come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8For I too 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 servant, ‘Do this,’ and
he does it.” 9When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to
the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found
such faith.” 10And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they
found the servant well.”
5.
In
our text Jesus admired the faith of a Gentile soldier. He said, “I have not found such great faith even in
Israel.” In Lutheran theology we speak of saving faith, that is, the faith
that claims the merits of the crucified and risen Christ. All true Christians
have saving faith. We also speak of faith in terms of trusting the promises of
God in specific times of need. May the Holy Spirit strengthen our faith as we
consider, “Faith says, say the word, and
God responds through His Son Jesus Christ.”
6.
There
are three aspects to this faith. Faith
presupposes knowledge. Although the
centurion wasn’t a Jew, he knew about Jesus. Jesus was popular with the people, and word of
him was spreading. Some Jews who
believed in Jesus gave specific testimony (vv 3–4). You and I have learned about Jesus too. Through our parents and grandparents, Sunday
school teachers, Lutheran School teachers, through confirmation, worship, and
so on. And, we need to make sure that
the knowledge of Jesus continues to spread, to our children and to all in
spiritual darkness, through support of missions and our testimony.
7.
Faith
includes agreement or an assent, saying yes to the works of God in His Word. The centurion believed what he heard about
Jesus. We can’t say for certain that he
recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah.
But, he wasn’t like those in the parable of the sower in whom the seed
was weak.
8.
In
the power of the Holy Spirit you and I have confessed our agreement with God’s
Word in Holy Scripture. We made such a
confession on the day of our confirmation.
We make that confession every Sunday.
9.
Faith
is also trust that what God says in His Word is true. Here’s an illustration on that point. At the circus, the high-wire walker was very
popular. The audience knew all about his daring feats. They agreed that he
could do almost anything on that wire. Suddenly he appeared. There was a noisy
welcome. “How many of you believe that I
can walk this wire with a chair strapped to my back?” he asked. Everyone
cheered. They all agreed that he could do it. “And how many of you believe that I can walk this wire with somebody
sitting in the chair?” he asked. Again they cheered. They all agreed that
he could do it. Waving his arms for quiet, he next posed this question, “Which one of you is willing to sit in the
chair?” There was silence. No one dared to speak. They agreed that he was
the best, but no one was willing to trust him with their own lives.
10.
So
too, the centurion trusted what he heard about Jesus. When his situation was desperate he called
for Jesus. Recognizing his own
unworthiness, he said, “Just speak the
word, and my servant will be healed.”
You and I often have our backs against the wall. Sickness, family problem, job loss. We have tried everything we know and have
exhausted our resources. Although we
know the promises of God and claim to believe them, we sometimes fail to trust
that God is good and faithful to his promises.
11.
There
are many examples of God’s promises that we can trust. When we are overwhelmed by guilt, and our
conscience troubles us. We can trust that God is gracious and that the blood of
Jesus has cleansed us of all sin (1 Jn 1:7). See also Is 1:18; Psalm 103; Jn
8:11; Lk 15:24; 18:14. When we feel all
alone with a problem. Even God seems distant. We can trust that he will never
leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5). See also Mt 28:20; Ps 46:1. When we have prayed, but things went from bad
to worse. We see nothing good. We can trust that all things work for the good
of those who love God (Rom 8:28). When we
question whether we will be in heaven. We can trust that all who believe in
Christ as Savior will be saved (Jn 3:16). See also 1 Jn 5:13.
12.
But
what if your faith is weak, your trust in Jesus is lacking? Although those who don’t believe won’t be heard
(James 1:6–7), Jesus won’t break the bruised reed (Mt 12:20). He once healed
the son of a father who admitted his own weakness of faith (Mk 9:24). Jesus understands our weakness of faith but
still invites us to come (Mt 11:28). Jesus
strengthens our faith through Word and Sacrament (Rom 10:17; Mt 26:26–28). He
even strengthens us through sufferings (Rom 5:3–5).
13.
In our text from Luke 7 this
morning the Jewish elders call this centurion “worthy.” But, just like Private Ryan, this centurion confesses
himself to be “not worthy,” for he
knows that no number of his good works can make him worthy of Jesus. The
centurion isn’t the only one who confesses his unworthiness. John the Baptist
declares, “I baptize you with water for
repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I
am not worthy to carry” (Matthew 3:11).
Likewise, St. Paul says, “I am the least
of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the
church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9). Over and over again, those who seem
most pious and worthy confess their unworthiness. If even the most pious
declare themselves “unworthy,” who is worthy? Heaven answers, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive
power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing”
(Revelation 5:12)! Here is true worthiness. It is
found not in the good works we perform, but in the Lamb, who was slain. It’s
Jesus’ worthiness in which the centurion trusts. And it is Jesus’ worthiness
that heals the centurion’s servant. But best of all, it is Jesus’ worthiness
that forgives our sins. Amen.
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