Last week in my travels to North Carolina, I found myself in the Liturgy at St. Basils in Wilmington, listening to what was perhaps my favorite Gospel Text of the year when our Lord is describing how the incredible the Love of God so overpowers our life, that there is nothing in this world that we should be anxious about. It is an incredible text that happens right in the middle of our Lord’s famous Sermon on the mount, where Jesus reveals the heart of his teaching to the world.
The sermon on the mount begins with the beatitudes, where Jesus describes the character of His followers. He goes on to speak about how Christians are meant to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. We are responsible for irradicating the darkness in ourselves, in our families, and in the world! Like the salt that we place on our food, we are the salt that is meant to give flavor to the world!
The rest of the sermon speaks about what it means to be righteous and truly pleasing to God. Jesus teaches us how to pray, how to give alms, and how to fast. These things aren’t just exterior signs that we do to show we are Christian, but rather they are actions that are meant to renovate the interior of our souls. These are the things we do that transform us into being perfect, “as our Father in heaven is perfect.”
After speaking with Divine Authority on the mountain, Jesus enters Capernaum and is approached by a pagan centurion. This is a man of power and prominence! He lived in a nice house, had servants waiting on him hand and foot, and had 100 men under his command! He was given this authority by the Roman Empire, who viewed the Jews as parasites living in their midst!
Despite all of this, the Centurion was indeed a man of love. He didn’t just love his wife and children, but even his slaves. When one of the servant boys became sick, the Roman humbled himself to go and plead with the lowly savior of the Jews. When Jesus said “I will come to your house”, the centurion showed his humble faith by saying: “Lord, I am not worthy…speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed”.
What a beautiful expression of faith in our Lord’s Authority over our life! It can be said that even Martha and the apostles did not have the faith that this Roman had! We can recall the story of the Raising of Lazarus from the dead, when Martha said to our Lord: “If you would have been here, my brother would not have died…but I know what you ask of the Father, He will give it to thee…”. The Roman, on the other hand, knew that Jesus did not need to ask the Father for anything. Christ marveled at his Faith because the centurion realized that Jesus is not the asker, He is the doer! He accomplishes the miracles! He accomplishes the answer to prayer! The Centurion knew Jesus would merely speak it, and it would be done. He knew that sickness, death, and sorrow were under the command of our Lord, just as the servants and soldiers were under his command. It was this humble faith in our Lord’s authority over our lives…which caused Jesus to MARVEL saying: “I have not found faith like this in all of Israel.”
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus spoke to us and told us to cast off our anxieties about life, because of our Lord’s care and Love for His creation. Now, when reading the account of the centurion’s servant, we are offered the test: How much trust do we place in our Lord’s authority in our lives?
St. Paisos of Mt Athos once said: “Completely have trust in God, leave everything in His hands, and believe that His love will act for your own benefit. Then God will take care of everything, because there is nothing He cannot do; everything is easy for Him. The difficult thing is for man to decide to humble himself and leave everything to God’s providence and love.”
One of our biggest weaknesses in life is that we try to control things in which we have no power to control. This is a very serious symptom of pride. Rather than humbling ourselves and placing our lives in God’s hands, we try to control pandemics, diseases, wars, family strife, politics, and personal weaknesses. Yet here is St. Paisios echoing he words of all of the saintly men and women who had gone before him saying Humble yourself like the centurion and put your trust in the Authority of God.
When we get sick, our first call shouldn’t be to the doctor or to the medicine cabinet. It should be a rush to our icon corners to seek guidance and healing from our Lord.
When there is internal strife in the middle of our family, parents not speaking to each other, or children acting in rebellion, we look to the examples of the Saints and ask for their intercessions to Almighty God to bring peace.
When the waves us depression and anxiety overcome us, we free for refuge in the calm haven of the Church, allowing it to protect us from the waves of life that seek to topple us over.
This is something that priests are blessed to see on a continual basis. A recent example is of a young man who has made a weekly visit to our little parish. After hearing that he had terminal cancer and undergoing various forms of treatment that were unsuccessful, he turned his gaze turned towards the Church. Every week, he comes in and we sing the Akathist service for healing of Cancer, while he kneels in front of the icon, sometimes in clear pain, and puts his complete trust in our Lord. It is in those moments where he finds true freedom and peace. It is in these moments when he is the only one among us who are wrapped up in the world, that is seeing clearly.
Put your trust and confidence in the Lord dear ones…and God will take care of the rest!