When power chooses humility
Luke 7:1-5 This humble, powerful guy knows what he values
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.’
Today in our morning zoom devotions & Bible Study we pondered this text. Even though it comes up every three years in the Lectionary (Proper 4 C), it was so fresh to me today. Pulled apart from the resolution of the crisis at hand and how Jesus responds, it sits on its own as a witness to humility, power, desperation, values, connection, advocacy.
BACKSTORY for those new to Luke’s Gospel….
So far in Luke we have:
The stories of birth for John and Jesus, and a few stories of Jesus growing up (Luke 1-2).
The stories of John’s ministry, John baptizing Jesus, and Jesus’ family tree (Luke 3).
The story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13) and the start of his teaching/preaching career (Luke 4:14-30) in Galilee and Nazareth.
Previous healing stories in Luke:
Luke 4:31-44 : Jesus extracts an evil spirit from a man possessed while teaching authoritatively in the Capernaum synagogue
Luke 5:12-16 : Jesus cleanses a leper, right after calling some fishermen and an amazing catch of fish (Luke 5:1-11).
Luke 5:17-26 : Jesus heals a paralyzed man, then calls a despised tax collector, Levi, to follow him along with the fishermen. Levi hosts a big party for Jesus and Jesus eats with a low category of people- tax collectors, sinners.
Then there are some additional debates with religious authorities about eating and fasting, about appropriate behavior on the sabbath (Luke 5:33-6:16). Then a section of Jesus’ teaching. Luke 6:17-49 is all instruction to the disciples- including the popular beatitudes and the less popular woe-to-yous (Luke 6:20-26).
That brings us to today’s hero: a centurion in Capernaum: Luke 7:1-5. Let’s enjoy a slow read…
After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.
Let’s talk about Capernaum:
According to R. Alan Culpepper in The New Interpreter’s Bible, A Commentary, Volume IX, 1995, page 155: “Capernaum was a minor trade center and toll station where roads crossed in Galilee.”
The disciple Simon, aka Peter, lived in Capernaum. Jesus hung out in Capernaum a lot.
A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death.
A Roman centurion is like a general, a man of strength, intelligence, authority over a century (one hundred) other soldiers. This centurion, according to Culpepper again: “was probably serving Herod Antipas rather than the Romans.” It is important to say that Herod was an ass. He was a terrible leader who cared little for the people he “led”. This centurion was unfortunately working for a leader who was a total mess.
Unlike his boss Herod Antipas, the centurion cares about people. He values his slave. And in a moment, we will observe in this story that he is highly regarded by the synagogue leaders in Capernaum even though the centurion was not a member of their religious and cultural community. It sounds to me like the centurion is one of those gentiles preparing to convert to Judaism, or at least, he valued their orderly laws and well-reasoned teachings. He valued their way of life that emphasized love of God, care for family, living honorably, caring for one another. The centurion would have likely been a man with high standards, leading his soldiers by example. I can imagine he valued the high standards of behavior of the Capernau synagogue community, even though he was probably a long, long way from his home community.
According to Bruce Malina (my go to guy for all social-science background info in the New Testament), “Greco-Roman domestic and political economies were in many respects slave economies. Slaves, not machines, did the heavy labor, and this made possible the leisure, thus the culture, of the free. Slavery was an accepted institution throughout the Mediterranean.” (Social-Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul by Malina & Pilch, Pages 396-397.) Unlike the United States economic model of enslaving African people, slavery in the time of Jesus had nothing to do with skin pigment or place of ancestral origin. The slave of the centurion in this story could have been born a slave, captured during a battle, sold by his parents as a child because they were too poor to feed him, rescued from infant exposure on the side of a muddy road by a person who raised him to be a slave that could be sold for profit. The slave of a centurion was a more honorable position in society than a free person of low status. Slavesa could be property managers operating with great independence, or teachers or doctors. Get this- in the ancient Greco-Roman worlds, a slave could own a slave! It’s unlike the enslavement of Africans in many ways, and yet- enslavement is still all about compelling someone else to do your work. It is/was about owning another person. It is/was fraught with sexual and other physical violence.
When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave.
Let’s talk about the pecking order of power and authority:
The centurion could demand that Jesus, an itinerant teacher-healer from Nazareth (a smaller town) to come and heal his slave. It does not seem to be his style. He instead uses a very humble act of asking the respected elders of the community to go to Jesus on his behalf. This tells us that the centurion was in relationship with these elders, that they had a relationship of some level of mutual trust.
This also tells us that the centurion and elders had most likely been in conversation about Jesus and his ability to heal people. Word got around quickly, and the elders and centurion probably discussed the news of this teacher-healer casting out an evil spirit, cleansing the skin of the leper, and restoring mobility to the paralyzed man. The centurion believes these accounts about Jesus and his authority and power, and I bet the elders did, too.
The centurion, even if working for the mess of a pseudo-Jewish leader Herod Antipas, was a symbol of Roman authority. Rome was the occupying foreign power, and that meant the centurion was a complicated symbol of threat, power, danger, authority, violence, oppression, access.
The elders have authority and power, too. They are the wise leaders in the Capernaum community. They are brokers of power in this story, connecting the humble request of a powerful man to the power of a humble teacher-healer named Jesus.
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.’
Let’s talk about worthiness and how we determine who is worthy:
We have really differing ideas about who is worthy, which is probably why I still bristle whenever i hear the phrase “you deserve it!” even when it expresses someone’s approval at my spending of money on fancy new shoes or taking a day off to play instead of work.
Worth is determined by our values. A trip to Athens is worth more to me than new kitchen countertops because I value travel with my kids more than a fancy kitchen. An old quilt is worth more to me than a posh new duvet because someone (probably a woman) made it skillfully by hand- even if I do not know who. I value handmade things. I value the story, whether known or secret, in my things.
When there is a crime or accident, experts determine the worth of a person who has become disabled or who has died. Earning potential, community standing, family responsibilities, age… many factors go into some formula to determine their financial worth to the world.
The elders have calculated the formula for the centurion and determined that he is worthy. Their formula likely included:
The centurion’s prominent position of power and access to Herod Antipas.
The centurion’s financial investment in the Jewish community of Capernaum.
The centurion’s commitment to the community.
The centurion’s compassion for the slave and other people.
The centurion’s wisdom and behavior.
The centurion’s love of the people - a contrast to many in power who take, take, take and never give, give, give.
In the face of desperation over the well being of a slave, the centurion demonstrates humility as he seeks access to the healing power of Jesus. He stays true to his values, and his community relationships produce willing advocates who broker this new connection between one who has political and military power, and the One who has the power to heal a slave nearing death.
I feel called to humility today. To see myself as God sees me. Interconnected yet called to make choices as an individual. Leading people in my community as a servant to what will draw us all more deeply into a life of flourishing. Filled with capabilities and totally reliant on God (and others) for strength and wisdom.
