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“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.” Matthew 8:8–9
These are words spoken by a man who is very familiar with the
exercise of authority. He is a Roman centurion, and he states that
he himself is “a man subject to authority” and that he also has
soldiers who are subject to him. Thus, his daily life consists of
following orders and giving orders that are to be obeyed.
When authority is exercised properly, it is a gift that helps to
order society, family life, the life of the Church and even our
personal lives. Of course, when authority is exercised improperly,
in an oppressive and abusive way, it causes much damage. But the
exercise of authority is, in and of itself, an act that has the
potential to do much good.
Jesus Himself is quite impressed with the Roman centurion in the
Gospel passage quoted above. Of him, Jesus states, “Amen, I say to
you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.” Imagine having
the Son of God say that about you! Jesus is impressed, in part,
because the centurion acknowledges that he is not worthy to have
Jesus come to his house. This is humility, in that the centurion
clearly perceives his unworthiness. But Jesus is also impressed
because the man manifests a clear and certain faith in Jesus’
authority to heal his servant from a distance. He does not hesitate
to profess his belief in this authority of our Lord.
In our own lives, we are often lacking in this area. We face a
difficulty (such as the illness this centurion’s servant was
enduring), and instead of turning to God with full and unwavering
confidence, we turn in on ourselves. We become anxious, fearful,
doubtful, confused and sometimes even angry. When any of these
qualities are present, it is not because of the difficult situation
we face; rather, it is because of our lack of faith and our lack of
confidence in the all-powerful authority of our Lord.
In the case of the Roman centurion’s servant, it was the will of
God that Jesus physically heal, and so He did. But in the countless
daily challenges we face in life, God’s answers might be varied.
One unwavering quality we must always have is a certain conviction
that God desires to exercise His loving authority in our lives, in
the way He chooses, if we trust Him and invite Him to take
control.
Reflect, today, upon the perfection of the authority of Christ. Do
you believe that He can exercise His perfection of power in your
life? Do you believe that His authority is what is needed to order
your life, your family, our Church and even our world? Prayerfully
submit yourself to the authority of Christ this day and allow
yourself to become amazed as you witness all that He is able to
do.
All-powerful Father, I entrust to You my life and every
situation in my life that needs Your power and control. Please
bring order and harmony to my life and to the lives of those around
me. May all Your children learn to more fully entrust themselves to
You as their loving God. Jesus, I trust in You.
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Featured images above: Christ and the centurion by
Sebastiano Ricci, via Wikimedia Commons
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