4th February

Centurions

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help, "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralysed and in terrible suffering." Matthew 8, 5 & 6

Matthew 8 and Luke 7 speak about the centurion from Capernaum whose ill servant gets healed because his master has "a great faith" in the power of Jesus: he knew that one word of the Lord would be sufficient.

When Jesus died the centurion who watched over the execution was upset and he acknowledged in front of all that he was in the presence of the Son of God.

In Acts 10 we read the remarkable conversion of Cornelius. He was a centurion who served God with his alms and his prayers. However, he needed a Saviour and Peter is sent to him by the Lord to explain to him how he could be saved. He receives the Saviour in humility and gratitude as coming from God and joy enters into his heart and his house.

Finally, Acts 27 and 28 we find the centurion Julius who was obliged to lead Paul to Rome. His behaviour towards his prisoner shows that he was touched by God's power operating in the apostle.

Whatever kind of authority we can have in this world; these examples invite us to recognize him from whom all authority comes and to whom we will have to give account and who wants to make himself known to everyone as God the Saviour.