Today's reading encompasses some of my favorite passages. There is so much meat in these lines that counters so much of the dribble foisted on us by the Roman church. While we also remember a doctor of the church today as well, I am quick to point out the folly of historical bias (read: tradition) and policy preferences of that Church based on human decisions rather than scripture or the Spirit.
So let's hit the ground running. I've written about this previously ( years ago actually ). The first story here is a Roman centurion and his "pais". Yes, pais is the original word not servant. While servant is a really nice word it none the less does a miserable job of conveying who this 'servant' was. A "pais" was more than a servant, it was more like a young lover which would be quite normal for a Roman officer. What is stranger, that the Roman church has subverted the translation by dumbing down the translation to suit their own desires? Or how truly astonishing it is that a Roman Centurion seek out this itinerant Jewish preacher to heal his young lover. Jesus knows who he is, he is at least an officer of the occupying army! Jesus also knows what a "pais" is and yet, Jesus recognizes the Centurion's faith and cures the young lover. The messages about Jesus come thundering through to me! Jesus is a rebel of the highest order, a forgiver and healer. What has the church done to this message of involving tacit approval of a same sex relationship?
Let's move on to another point. Jesus is in Peter's house (Peter, first 'Pope' if you will, even if that term had not been invented yet) Peter who would deny Jesus three times and left in charge of the church when Jesus ascends. Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law. If Peter has a mother in law, Peter is married. Yet, do the Romans allow married priests? Yet another perversion. The exceptions are rare and exist but the policy of married priests is totally fabricated out of an agenda. That is, male domination, euro-centricity, etc. It is sadly comical that such a policy is one of the contributing factors of the church's current sex scandals.
Two of my favorite topics. I'll leave it to you to do further research. What are we to do though? If the truth is not born out in the churches, what are we to do as faithful. We must speak up, be counter cultural as Jesus was and witness to alternative lives born of love and true faith.
Matthew 8:5-17
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralysed, in terrible distress.’ And he said to him, ‘I will come and cure him.’ The centurion answered, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”, and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this”, and the slave does it.’ When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.’ And the servant was healed in that hour.
When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.’
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