Monday, August 21, 2017

Jesus Heals a Centurion Slave

God's Urgent Call
Calling of Prophets


Called to Be Inclusive

Luke 7:1-10 The Message

A Place of Holy Mystery

7 1-5 When he finished speaking to the people, he entered Capernaum. A Roman captain there had a servant who was on his deathbed. He prized him highly and didn’t want to lose him. When he heard Jesus was back, he sent leaders from the Jewish community asking him to come and heal his servant. They came to Jesus and urged him to do it, saying, “He deserves this. He loves our people. He even built our meeting place.”
6-8 Jesus went with them. When he was still quite far from the house, the captain sent friends to tell him, “Master, you don’t have to go to all this trouble. I’m not that good a person, you know. I’d be embarrassed for you to come to my house, even embarrassed to come to you in person. Just give the order and my servant will get well. I’m a man under orders; I also give orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9-10 Taken aback, Jesus addressed the accompanying crowd: “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust anywhere in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know about God and how he works.” When the messengers got back home, they found the servant up and well.

For Reflection
Many Christians express an ideology of exclusivity.  That is, some believe that if one does not belong to a particular denomination, one is not afforded the promise of God or salvation.

Yet God's church is composed of many doctrines and styles of worship. As God has called people from all walks of life, from all faiths, from all nations and races, God's intentions are clear.   The Centurion's trust as shown by his recognition of Christ marks him as a faithful servant. It is that profound trust in God, that identifies one as a faithful servant. It is one's faith in God, not one's religion that saves.

Pray
Pray for the unity of the Church Universal.  Pray that you will find God's handiwork in all denominations.  Pray so that you can serve God in humility offering Christian hospitality to all peoples.

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