Word to the Wise
Monday, September 13, 2010 - St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
[1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33 and Luke 7:1-10]Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it.
Where would we be without words? How could I preach The Word to the Wise without words? When certain sounds are organized in a certain way, they result (hopefully) in communication (assuming an attentive listener, of course - which parents, spouses and preachers pray for!) But, even the very word, "word," can have a number of meanings! In today's gospel scripture, that meaning is rather special. On one level, the Centurion's level, it carries the expectation of an effective command from a superior to an inferior (with consequences attached for non-performance!). This level is the experience and analogy that shapes the amazing faith of the pagan centurion! However, it is a "contingent" word in that it depends on someone else to carry it out! This brings us to Jesus' "word" which is not on the same level, but the Centurion could not have understood it at the moment. Jesus' "word" is the same as the person of Jesus! He does not have to be present for the servant to be healed! His desire is equivalent to reality. This is the sense of the meaning of the Hebrew word, dabar, the creating word of God: "Let there be light!" Jesus' "word" is the equivalent to reality! He is Lord of all Creation! The faith of the Centurion is amazing to Jesus because it exceeds anything that Jesus was experiencing in his own people. For the Centurion, a command is the same as "It's as good as done!" (But it still has to BE done!) For Jesus, there's no contingency! The Centurion's faith can serve as a starting model for any of us! How many of us could "amaze" Jesus with our faith? But the challenge is to go beyond the "word" to the Word, who is Jesus. Otherwise all that we have is the result of another miracle and still no faith in the one who spoke the "word." AMEN
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