Friday, February 17, 2023

 

Friday, February 17, 2023

Psalm 106

Genesis 29:31-30:24

Luke 7:1-10

Observance: Holy Innocents [If not observed on December 28]

When Jesus heard [the message from the centurion] He was amazed at him.

We have an uncomfortable relationship with authority. When it serves us, we are happy, like when a copper wins against a robber. When it tells us to do something we don’t want to do, we grumble, protest, or vote. It is almost animalistic, this binary nature of being satisfied by fulfilled carnal desires, and lashing out with violence when our toys are taken away:

“When you vote, you are exercising political authority, you're using force. And force, my friends, is violence. The supreme authority from which all other authorities are derived.”

Such was the conclusion of science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein, writing in the wake of the Second World War.

Our centurion friend saw things differently. In a perfect universe, with all things ordered correctly, authority is a beautiful thing. The centurion was a Jewish convert, who believed in a God that intends for the universe to behave itself in an ordered fashion, and loved Him for it. Not only does the God whom both he and we serve bring order out of chaos, but He does so for the sake of love. Placing himself under the authority of that loving God and His Messiah, the centurion reaped the blessings of faithful service, and gained for himself enduring fame in the eternal pages of scripture as one who had more faith than Jesus had seen in all of Israel.

Lord, bring our rebellion to heel: you know what is best for us. May we love to be under your authority, and to be confident that your authority comes not from violence, but the kind of love that can take over the world.




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