Set Under Authority (Luke 7:8)

 

Friday, February 21, 2025

Psalms 121; 122; 123

Genesis 29:31-30:24

Luke 7:1-10

Set Under Authority (Luke 7:8)

There is an old joke that makes the claim that men cannot go a single day without thinking about ancient Rome at least once. Thus, when reading this passage from St Luke’s gospel about the centurion, my first thought was to the opening scene of the TV series Rome, which gives an excellent example of why the ancient Romans were such an effective fighting force.

The centurion (who turns out to be one of the main characters) is surrounded by his men, all lined up in ranks, with shields up and swords at the ready. Their barbarian enemies charge with no sense of discipline, falling on the shield wall like water upon rock. After a short while, the centurion blows his whistle, and with military precision the front rank move in an orderly fashion to the rear, allowing the next rank to move up. All the men doing the fighting are therefore kept fresh and ready, being reinforced before anyone becomes tired, and no-one is lost.

Our centurion in today’s passage would have been very much like this one. He sees the world in his own military way: there are men under him who follow his orders, and there are men above him whose orders he follows. If everything runs in the way it should, then, ideally, everyone will make it home alive.

This is how he sees the order of the world and the heavens, too. The God of Israel is above all: he is the one with ultimate authority. God has delegated authority to creatures beneath him, giving them orders, and so on, all the way down. If the created universe will then follow God’s chain of command, then we will all make it home alive. What causes Jesus to encourage his followers to marvel at him is that the centurion acknowledges Jesus as the one with ultimate authority. He does not presume to come before Jesus the Emperor (which is what a King of kings is), but only asks that he give the order for his servant to be healed. Jesus holds ultimate authority; all he needs to do is give the order, and creation will obey him.

If we had the faith of this centurion, then how would that affect our relationship with Jesus? He is our brother and our friend, and he also holds all things by the word of his power. How do you speak to him? How much attention do you pay to his words?

Christ our sovereign Lord: we do not presume to come before you, but do so only because you invite us. Grant us a sense of marvel at your sovereign power, and may we always acknowledge your rule over all things.