To read the texts click on the texts: Gen 18:1-15; Mt 8:5-17
The text of today contains the healing
of the Centurion’s servant and the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law. The
healing of the Centurion’s servant is also found in Luke (7,1-10) and John but
with variations. While in Luke the centurion never makes an appearance
personally, in Matthew he addresses Jesus as “Lord”, which is an address only
believers use in Matthew. The response of Jesus to the Centurion’s need is seen
by some as a question rather than a statement, “I should come and heal him?”
This is in keeping with Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus who is sent as Messiah
only for the lost sheep of Israel (10,5-6) and not for Gentiles. The Centurion
is not deterred by Jesus’ question, and responds with faith. The healing takes
place from a distance. The focus, however, is not on the miracle but on the
faith of the centurion and through his faith the faith of “unbelievers”. The
centurion does not claim to have faith. It is Jesus who testifies to his faith.
We can get deterred and lose our focus
when thigs do not go the way we want them to. At these times we may blame our
family, our neighbours and even God. The Centurion’s attitude is a lesson to us
never to get deterred from what we have to do and continue to keep our sights
fixed on what we want to achieve confident that our perseverance will pay rich
dividends.