Good Morning Friends,
Having great faith in Christ’s love enables us to stop worrying about ourselves, which then frees us to look out for the interests of those around us. There are plenty of people who need saving in this world. Great faith enables us to stop worrying about our own status before God and start worrying about the status of others. We see this message played out in both the instructions of Paul regarding the fellowship of the Eucharist in Corinth and in the story of the centurion in Luke. How Is Your Faith In Christ’s Authority Forming Your Love For Others?
Scripture: Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and to some extent I believe it. Indeed, there have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine. When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s supper. For when the time comes to eat, each of you goes ahead with your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk. What! Do you not have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I commend you? In this matter I do not commend you! For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33 (NRSV)
After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.” And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also 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 slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
Luke 7:1-10 (NRSV)
Message: Think about the centurion. For he helps us to understand the characteristics of an amazing and strong faith that might give us some insight into how to worship and live. It had nothing to do with how rich he was or how much he gave to build the synagogue. It was reflected in his humility and his trust that Jesus could work a miracle by His Word. His great and amazing faith was that he was focused on Jesus and His grace. That is how we are to worship God today, not anachronistically, for the Biblical faith has been subverted by culture but as a matter of how we live. We are to be edified on Sunday certainly, but we are to be in worship and be in service all the time to God’s Glory. This is how we are to live. It reminds me of Peter. When he was focused on Jesus, he was able to walk on water. But when he lost his focus and thought about the fact that he was walking on water – the wind and the waves – he fell. Instead of worrying about how strong your faith is, think about how strong and gracious Jesus is. Stay focused on Him, and God will strengthen the faith in you and guide you to love others as a result. The strength is not in the grip of the hand, but in the object of the eyes. Look up to Jesus and hold on to Him. See how gracious He is. See how strong He is. Without even looking at it, the faith in you will be strong and amazing, because it will be the faith of Jesus focused on God the Father, whose grace and mercy and forgiveness in the power of the Holy Spirit are the strongest and most amazing experience of life.
And So, God expects us to be people of extraordinary faith. He wants us to look at our circumstances through the eyes of faith and believe we can bring changes in our situations and in the situations of others. Now this faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see, and this plays out in our experience of Communion. For here our faith in remembering Christ is not based on our present situation alone, but it looks forward to the future. We are not only to achieve faith but to exercise it collectively in fellowship and daily in worship and in our belief in Christ manifested in service. The centurion in today’s gospel reading had a great faith. And our role in this regard is more in humbly submitting to God’s grace than exerting our own will. And what is amazing about such a faith is that it is not based on our present situation, but it looks forward to the future with hope in the authority of Christ. When we love our faith is made strong and permeates our being.
Pray we look to the future through eyes of faith. Pray we mind our manners in remembering our redeemer. Pray we realize that faith crosses all barriers, so we might better work in unity together. Pray we realize that our faith makes us humble in doing God’s work, so we might better recognize the authority of Christ. Pray we trust Jesus. Pray we look at our circumstances through the eyes of faith in the power of Jesus Christ. Pray our faith and our love is linked in worshipful service in the truth and grace of Jesus for the Kingdom of God to come.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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