Homily for 21 June 2015--Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: "Active Faith Frees Us to be Slaves of God"

Active Faith Frees Us to be Slaves to God

Homily for Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (21 June 2015, 8 June 2008)

Romans 6:18-23…………….Matthew 8:5-13

 

Today’s readings from St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and St Matthew’s Gospel present two ideas that seem to contradict themselves.  They appear paradoxical until we examine them carefully.

Here are the two ideas:

Faith as action, and slavery as freedom.

We usually think of faith as static, as something that just is.  But the Centurion who comes to Jesus and asks for the healing of his servant has active faith.  It brings him to Jesus and it makes him declare, “Just say the word and my servant (or slave; the word is the same in the original Greek) will be healed.”

This Centurion knows that God’s word is true and that God’s power is effective.  And so he has no need for drama or making a fuss—even though he’s probably worried sick.  After all, he depends on his slave for all kinds of assistance—taking care of his clothes and his weapons, preparing his food, delivering his messages, maybe even writing for him.  And he also has to deal with the pressures of his job as an army commander.

Very likely, then, there is a strong bond of affection and dependence between the Centurion and his slave.  Certainly we can see that he does not regard his slave as just his property—if his horse was sick, he would not ask Jesus to heal it.  The Centurion recognizes his slave’s human worth and dignity, despite his status as a slave.

This reminds us that Christ came to save all people, regardless of status, or family, or money, or anything else.  It also reminds us that we therefore need to pray that God will save other people, not just ourselves.  Our faith is personal but communal, not individual.

People who keep their faith private or think that they are already good enough or pious enough or holy enough, or that they deserve salvation because they were born into Christian families, may in fact not be saved.  Faith has to be active.

At the same time, as St Paul tells the Romans, once we profess our faith in Jesus Christ, once we are baptized into His life, we become slaves to righteousness.  That is, we willingly accept God as Master of our lives.  In faith, we turn our lives over to God.  We basically say, like the Centurion, “Just say the word and your slave (me) will be healed.”

It seems obvious that being a slave is a bad thing—you have no freedom, and freedom is very important to us.  But accepting slavery to righteousness means being free from slavery to evil and sin.  Slavery to God is freedom from slavery to the Devil.

Being slaves of God’s righteousness makes us free to live in faith, without fear or anxiety.  We know that we can come to the Lord and ask for healing—for ourselves and for others.  We know that our faith can be put into action in every aspect of our lives—like the Centurion, who lived his faith in his military job and in his personal relationships.

Being slaves of God’s righteousness puts responsibility on us to do our Master’s will all the time, not just for an hour on Sunday.

Being slaves of God’s righteousness means we have to practice love and mercy and justice at home, dealing with our spouses and children and brothers and sisters; at work, dealing with our bosses, our employees, our co-workers, our customers; in our business dealings; at school; on the athletic field—everywhere.

Our faith has to be active—always asking God to take care of others, as the Centurion did.

Our faith has to be humble, like the Centurion’s when he said, “I am not worthy to have you come to me.”

Our faith has to be strong, like the Centurion’s when he said, “Just say the word and it will be done.”

When our faith is humble, strong, and active we can give ourselves voluntarily as slaves to God, confident that He will say the word and we will be healed, we will be free, we will be saved, we will gain eternal life.

So with active faith, as slaves to God, let us give thanks and praise and glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.