Friday, June 24, 2016

Saturday, June 25, 2016


Matthew 8: 5-17

When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
The centurion said in reply,
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man 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.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven,
but the children of the Kingdom
will be driven out into the outer darkness,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
And Jesus said to the centurion,
“You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.”
And at that very hour his servant was healed.

Jesus entered the house of Peter,
and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.
He touched her hand, the fever left her,
and she rose and waited on him.

When it was evening, they brought him many
who were possessed by demons,
and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick,
to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:
He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.

Who among us is worthy to have the Lord dwell within us? Only say the word and he will enter your heart. Jesus has to be invited in. He will not violate our wills and he will not dwell where he is not wanted. But Jesus is the doorway into God’s royal Kingdom. If Christ dwells within us we house his royal nature. Our bodies become the castle for the King. Are we a good castle that can stand up to the worst attack or are we a shed that is blown over by the slightest breeze? If we trust in the Lord nothing can batter our walls. We have no reason to fear for we are protected by the King.

The centurion knew his place and recognized that Jesus has authority over all creation. He knew that he was not worthy of Jesus attention. Yes Jesus was willing to go and serve the centurion. Jesus is willing to serve the servant. I am God’s doulos, commonly translated as servant, properly translated as slave. Even as a slave he is willing to love me sacrificially. He is willing to dwell within me, guide me, and forgive me. What am I that the Lord should do these things for me? If he is willing to do these things for me how much more should I do them for others?

The Jesus went to Peter’s house and cured his mother-in-law. This was the reason Peter used to defend himself after denying the Lord three times on the night he was handed over.

I don’t care who you are, that’s funny. Go ahead and laugh. God created humor too. The devil hates a good, heartfelt laugh.



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