Pentecost 2 [Luke 7:1-10] (2 June 2013)

This sermon was preached at St. John's Lutheran Church , Karoonda (9 am) and Trinity Lutheran Church, Tailem Bend (11 am).   

Why make a big deal about something little? Little things are little. But a big deal is a big deal. The centurion has a big deal, and Jesus' jaw drops because when hearts trust in him it's a big deal!

Jesus' gifts are received by repentant, humble faith (throughout the nations).

That's a big deal, because Jesus is a big deal. But in today's Gospel reading, the elders of the synagogue who come to Jesus, they say, “they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, ⁵ for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue." ”. Where are they pointing? To what the centurion has done. That's the knee-jerk reaction. The centurion has a big deal need – a slave in his house, who is practically part of the family, is near death. So the knee-jerk reaction of the respected people of the synagogue is to go to Jesus and give a reason why he should do this.

1. He loves Israel (meaning he loves the God of Israel, he doesn't just like the weather and the nice people), proven by – 2. He built our synagogue. That means he valued the Word of the Lord, because that's why there was a synagogue. It's not just a gathering place, it's a place to hear the Word of the God of Israel read. And it means that he was wealthy and important, to be able to do that for the people. Because he did that, they say, “he's worthy, the one that you would do this for.”

And that's your knee-jerk reaction too. When you have a need, talk about yourself. This last week, Oprah gave a commencement speech at Harvard University. And since many people believe whatever Oprah tells them to, I'll share what she said. She said, “What do people want most?”, and then you think, what will she say is the answer? “To be validated, to be understood”, because . . . at the end of all her interviews, everyone has said, “was that okay?” But there's a better word for that: to be justified. To be justified in what you do. But that's not what Jesus praises the centurion for. That's not faith. Faith is something different. But the knee-jerk reaction of the sinful nature that clings to us is to justify yourself. “Was that okay? Yeah.” Simply put, the knee jerk reaction is to say that God has a reason to do what we want because of something we do, something in us. But the centurion doesn't point to himself.

The centurion could point to a lot of things, but points away from them. The centurion has a lot of qualifications which he doesn't speak. A centurion was in charge of a hundred soldier in the powerful Roman army. They were looked upon very well by society – they were well paid and had a high status. But what do we hear? “When [Jesus] 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. ⁷ Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. ⁸ For 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." ”. He doesn't even go out to meet Jesus. He sends the synagogue leaders with his request, and when Jesus comes near he sends friends to say he's not worthy to have Jesus come under his roof. That's a humble centurion, but it's his faith that is humble.

The big deal for the centurion isn't himself and what he himself has to say. The big deal is Jesus. The centurion speaks of Christ and what he would say. He's content with a word, because he knows when someone with authority speaks, things happen. And what authority does Jesus have? Authority over demons, disease, and death. None of this is about what he can do. It's about the Word. It's not our knee-jerk reaction (it's not justifying yourself, but trusting in the One who justifies the ungodly, forgives you your sin because he has mercy on you, not because you deserve it).

At the end of chapter 6, Jesus says “"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." ”. And what does this centurion do? Just that. He trusts in the word. Who builds on the solid foundation? The centurion who hears of Jesus in faith and speaks in faith.

The occasion is the big deal of the sickness of this part of the family, but the biggest deal is the faith that makes Jesus' jaw drop. Luke writes that Jesus “marveled” at the centurion and then said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” That's a big deal because all four Gospels use this word “marvel” a number of times, but it's usually something the people do, to be 'amazed' at what Jesus does. Sometimes Jesus is 'astonished' at people's unbelief (same word). But only here is Jesus 'amazed', and it's at the faith of this Gentile! He's astonished at the man who points to his unworthiness and to Jesus' words!

It's a big deal when Christ's gifts overflow to humble repentant faith, and what an overflow. Look at what a humble faith receives. Christ says, “my cross, my death, this is for you”, and faith says, “yeah, that's not about me. That's about what Jesus has done for unworthy little me, about his forgiveness of all my sins.” Faith receives that the cross of Christ does something for you that you can't possibly do – you are justified for the sake of Christ's cross. It's the opposite of justifying yourself; it's being justified. Faith receives that there is no message like the message of the cross – all this for you, without needing anything from you but claiming all of you. It's a big deal when it's an undeserved gift, and a big deal to confess that (as the centurion did).

These gifts overflow in the proclamation of that Word, and the giving out of the visible Word in Baptism and the Lord's Supper. If faith is content with a word of Jesus, then faith is content in his salvation given with water and given when his true body and blood are received by eating and drinking in faith.

These gifts overflow to the nations, as we see in today's readings, and as we see that the centurion came to love the Word of God (in the synagogue and from Jesus' mouth, basically OT and NT, and he's a Gentile!), anticipating the mission of God throughout the world and all peoples and tongues.

The knee-jerk reaction of humble faith is trust in God and love for the neighbor. And that love is a swiss army knife of tools that never runs out of applications. And the Small Catechism serves so well in the confession of a humble faith – Luther puts these really great bits in all over the place: “without any merit or worthiness in me”; “we are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that he would give them all to us by grace”. That's also what we do when we sing the Kyrie – Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy. 'I have nothing, only empty hands.' It's also done in the corporate confession (“we justly deserve your punishment in time and in eternity” ). It's done when we sing hymns that praise the Word (“Speak, O Lord, They servant heareth. To Thy Word I now give heed: Life and spirit Thy Word beareth, All Thy Word is truth indeed. Death's dread power in me is rife; Jesus, may Thy Word of life Fill my soul with love's strong fervour. That I cling to Thee for ever.” (LHS 259) or “We have a sure prophetic Word By inspiration of the Lord; And though assailed on every hand, The Word of God shall ever stand.” (LHS 273) ). These are all big deals because Jesus is a big deal, which is what humble faith says.

Conclusion: Faith isn't a little thing, but that's always because who you believe in is the big deal. Saying your faith is a big thing is the opposite of the centurion, who only pointed to his unworthiness, and was content with a word from Jesus. When that word is your forgiveness, life, and salvation, that's a big deal. Amen.