“I am Unworthy, Lord…”
4th Sunday of Pentecost
Romans 6:18-23; Matthew 8:5-13
Throughout the ages, the occupiers, especially the representatives of the occupying power, considered themselves superior, stronger and even wiser than the native or indigenous population. As a rule, the occupiers are overcome with a sense of pride, and the population of the occupied country is treated with disdain and contempt. /This is known to all Ukrainians who grew up in Ukraine under any regime of occupation: German, Romanian, Russian, Polish.../
And here before us, in the Gospel story, the representative of the Roman occupying power in Israel is a centurion. "Proud Romans" was the unvarying characterization or epithet reserved for such men. The Romans, who conquered dozens of states in Europe, Africa and Asia with their organization and military power for centuries (three centuries before Christ and five centuries after Christ), were quite proud – and this was the accepted norm.
But the centurion mentioned in the Gospel is obviously an exception to the rule. He not only had power over one hundred Roman soldiers, but he also was a representative of the highest authority - the Roman emperor - in a certain district. Yet, despite his position, this centurion exhibited such virtues that the Lord Jesus Christ set him as an example in the confession of faith:
"Truly I say to you: even among Israel I did not find such great faith." /Matthew 8,10/.
Christ presented the centurion before the Israelites as a religious example that should be followed. The Israelites mostly resented that Jesus set them a centurion as an example, for they proud in a different way – theirs was a religious pride. The Israelites considered themselves God's chosen people, believers in the one God, and the centurion was not even formally a believer in the one God. Yet, he showed great faith in Jesus Christ, in His power, in His grace, and thus demonstrated the kind of faith that believers of the one God should have.
He, as a centurion, did not show the pride of a Roman holding power. On the contrary, he showed humiliation, and recognition of his unworthiness: "I am unworthy. Lord, that You may come under my roof..."/Matthew 8:8/
It is no wonder that each of us can now consider ourselves unworthy of Jesus Christ. For by now, the whole world has come to know Jesus Christ from The Gospel, Acts and Apostolic Epistles. He is accessible to all. And the world has come to know that from the almost two thousand years of the Church of Christ's existence, that Jesus is truly Lord, the Son of God, as well as of Man. It is therefore quite natural for us to show humility before Christ, and faith in Him.
But in Jesus’ time, those in his milieu saw Jesus Christ (aside from his closest disciples) only as a traveling preacher of some new faith. Christ, had no official position or recognition. That is why the Church of Christ holds up for us this centurion as an example of the confession of faith, for
A. he had a sense of his unworthiness before God, before Jesus Christ;
B. he had firm and great faith in the power and grace of God Jesus Christ;
C. he, a centurion of the Roman Empire, asked for God's grace and recovery from illness, not for himself, but for his servant.
It is appropriate to note that it is truly a virtue before God when someone sincerely asks and desires the grace of God not for himself, but for his neighbour.
Here, too, I would like to further draw attention to the centurion's faith in God, in Jesus Christ. After each performance of the Liturgy, we declare: "I believe in one God... and in Jesus Christ, the Son of God...", but we often do it mechanically, often without thinking. To believe "in one God" is not just to admit that God is one. Also, to believe in "Jesus Christ, the Son of God" is not just to admit that Jesus Christ is or exists, with such a statement. For in that declaration, we express an obligation, a vow that we will show faith with our life, our actions, our deeds and hope in the only God, in the only Lord Jesus Christ.
By confessing or stating "I believe in one God..., in one Lord Jesus Christ" we testify that we will manifest the greatest dedication in fulfilling God's will and commandments, because we are aware that they are for our good, for our salvation. We also express and affirm the belief that everything is possible for God, that God can do everything, even though we may not comprehend or understand with our minds how God is able to do all that He does.
In general, we, people who believe in Christ, never even attempt to fully know and understand the actions of God. There can be no rationalistic faith. Apostle Paul testifies:
"And faith is the basis of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen"/Hebrews 11:1/ The truth is eternal, that is why Jesus Christ said to his disciple Thomas: "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." /John 20:29/ When we cannot see something, or when we cannot verify it, yet can accept it because it is from God, then this is the faith that is most needed and valuable.
We, for example, cannot verify and understand how a sick person can recover from a distance by someone's prayer, by the power of God, but we believe in it, because it truely happens.
We cannot know with our mind how exactly the resurrection of Lazarus, performed by Jesus Christ, happened; how life returned to a dead body. This can only be known by faith, and accepted, and believed on the basis of the story, the testimony of Christ's apostles.
The very disciples of Christ, the apostles, with their minds and human senses could not know how bread and wine, after the blessing of Jesus Christ, are transformed into the Body
and Blood of the Lord. They could not see the invisible spiritual transformation with their eyes, but they, recognizing and knowing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, accepted it by faith and passed that faith on to us.
When a Christian says that he or she believes, it does not mean that he or she understands everything about God. Man comes to know God gradually, but God cannot be known and understood fully. Similarly, just as any creature, any living thing on earth that comes into contact with a human being, seems to know this person, but it can never fully know him. For example, an ant, a dog, and a horse can gradually get to know a person, but can those creatures fully understand a person's dreams, activities, and interests?
Scientists tell us that light travels 186,000 miles per second. But it is simply impossible for people to imagine such a rapid penetration of light in space. We also cannot verify it, but we believe respected and well-known scientists - we accept their calculations as the truth. But while we believe such people, we "believe in God" - we believe in Him alone, we worship Him alone, we put all our hope in Him alone.
And, thus, we can believe people, trust some people to a certain extent, but we cannot believe in people. We can only believe in God. The Lord Jesus Christ is one of the revelations of God to people, thus our faith in Him is limitless.
The seeds, the foundations of such faith in the limitless possibilities of Jesus Christ, were expressed by a centurion of the Roman army: "Speak only the word, - and my servant will be healed" /Matthew 8, 8/ - and the Lord testified that such faith in Him is necessary in order to receive grace from God.
Amen.
Very Rev. Fr. Taras Slavchenko
Taras Slavchenko was born on March 8, 1918 in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region in Ukraine. After graduating from school and the Pedagogical College, he entered the language and literature faculty of the Scientific Pedagogical Institute. Having successfully completed it in 1938, he served as a teacher in a secondary school.