Sermon for the 4th Sunday of Matthew
Matthew 8:5-13
Today’s Gospel shows us a surprising man of faith. He is not one of God’s chosen people. He is not a disciple. He is not even a Jew. He is a Roman centurion, an officer of the occupying army. Yet our Lord says of him: “Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
What made his faith so great?
First, his humility. The centurion had everything that usually makes a man proud. He had rank, money, and command over a hundred soldiers. Yet when he came to Christ, none of that mattered. He simply said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof, but only speak the word, and my servant shall be healed.”
He does not bargain. He claims no rights. He only admits that he is unworthy. The Church loved these words so much that she made them her own. Before we receive Holy Communion, we too confess that we are not worthy. We come to the chalice not because we deserve it, but because Christ invites us. Every Liturgy teaches us that salvation begins with humility, not pride.
Second, his understanding of authority. “I also am a man under authority,” he says, “with soldiers under me.” He knows that real authority is not about controlling others, but about obeying. Because he obeys his own commanders, he understands how to command. And so he sees something amazing in Christ. The Lord does not need to touch the servant, or even to be there. His word alone is enough.
This is the same Word who made all things. At creation God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Now that Word speaks, and from far away a dying man is healed. So faith is not simply believing that God exists. Faith is trusting that the word of Christ has power over sickness, suffering, sin, and even death.
The Epistle adds to this lesson. St Paul says that we have been “set free from sin” and have become “slaves of righteousness.” We do not like that word, slaves. We love our independence, and we think freedom means answering to no one. But St Paul reminds us that everyone serves something. Either we serve our passions, such as pride, anger, greed, and lust, or we serve God. One kind of service ends in death. The other leads to holiness and eternal life.
The centurion shows us this. He commands many men, yet he first bows before Christ. The same is true for us. Parents, priests, teachers, doctors, employers, whatever we are given to do becomes a blessing only when done in obedience to God. Real authority is always rooted in humble service.
Notice, too, that the centurion does not come for himself, but for his servant. This is a beautiful picture of the Church. We are always bringing others to Christ: our children, our friends, those who have wandered away, the sick, the suffering, and even the dead. Like the centurion, we trust that Christ’s word reaches where our hands cannot. No distance is too far for His grace.
Perhaps the greatest wonder today is not the healing of the servant, but the faith of his master, a faith that crossed every barrier of nation, religion, culture, and rank, and came to rest in Christ.
May we copy his humility, confessing each day that we are not worthy, yet trusting fully in the Lord’s mercy. May we share his confidence that one word from Christ can heal every wound of body and soul. And may we truly serve God, for as St Paul says, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amen.