Isaiah 2:1-5
This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come,
The mountain of the LORD's house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
"Come, let us climb the LORD's mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths."
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
One nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.
O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the LORD!
Psalm 122
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity in your buildings.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Because of my relatives and friends
I will say, "Peace be within you!"
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Matthew 8:5-11
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."
__________________________________________
One day I'll decide how I want to format these meditations. Not today.
Home. Peace. Joy.
There are so many wonderful details embedded in these readings. We're talking about houses. My house. Your house. God's house.
God's house will be in the highest mountain. Weapons will be turned into tools. That's an interesting detail, isn't it? No more war. No more fighting. No more use for weapons. But it doesn't say bury them. It's says turn them into tools for labor.
Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. Peace and love and joy and the seat of judgement. One of these things is not like the other ones. Let us go rejoicing to the seat of judgement.
In the gospel reading, the centurion begs Jesus to come to his home and heal his servant. His servant! We don't get a lot of information about the man. It's a military role. I was taught that centurions were in charge of a hundred men. (Cent=hundred) Wikipedia pronounces more authority. Without explaining the etymology, Wikipedia says between two hundred and a thousand men. Whatever the number, when the centurion says he understands authority he is not exaggerating. He'd have been rich and he had power. When he said he's not worthy to host Jesus, he's saying something extraordinary. Was there anyone else in the Roman Empire who he was not worthy to host? Anyone at all? It would have been a beautiful home and yet he knew. He saw a high King in that dirty footed wandering Jew. He believed he wielded the power to heal. He understood the power of the word. It's still a weird thing to say though, right? I command lots of people. I understand power. You can command this illness with your word alone and without seeing it. What did he know? He compared the people under his command to the illness under Christ's command? What did he see? This is God. The Creator. All the world, not just people, are subject to his command. Did he see that? How?
I've heard people suggest that he didn't know, he hoped. He hoped that Jesus could heal. I think that's crazy. He knew something. He compared their authority. I tell soldiers what to do and they obey. You tell diseases what to do and they obey in the same way.
Jesus did heal, but more importantly, he invited this non-Jew to the banquet laid for God's people. He would recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Faith in Jesus bought this rich Roman a seat at the table. He did not tell him to sell everything and follow. He did not tell him to give everything he had, or anything he had, to the needy. He didn't demand a public declaration of faith and conversion. Being rich? Not a problem. Powerful? Not a problem. In fact, his power is how he gained insight. He saw in Jesus something that he understood because of his own experience. Faith connected an aspect of the centurion with the same aspect in Jesus.
I'm not rich and powerful, but I get that. Faith connects something fundamental in my self to that thing in Christ. I'm drawn in by a thing I recognize, but exponentially and incomprehensibly bigger. Jesus became a man. He offered a relationship. You can know him because, no matter who you are, like the centurion you can see something you understand through your humanness. Something that he has in his humanness. And yet, much greater.
Labor and judgement in God's house? Another day. Today a rich man came home.
This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come,
The mountain of the LORD's house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
"Come, let us climb the LORD's mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths."
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
One nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.
O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the LORD!
Psalm 122
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity in your buildings.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Because of my relatives and friends
I will say, "Peace be within you!"
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Matthew 8:5-11
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."
__________________________________________
One day I'll decide how I want to format these meditations. Not today.
Home. Peace. Joy.
There are so many wonderful details embedded in these readings. We're talking about houses. My house. Your house. God's house.
God's house will be in the highest mountain. Weapons will be turned into tools. That's an interesting detail, isn't it? No more war. No more fighting. No more use for weapons. But it doesn't say bury them. It's says turn them into tools for labor.
Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. Peace and love and joy and the seat of judgement. One of these things is not like the other ones. Let us go rejoicing to the seat of judgement.
In the gospel reading, the centurion begs Jesus to come to his home and heal his servant. His servant! We don't get a lot of information about the man. It's a military role. I was taught that centurions were in charge of a hundred men. (Cent=hundred) Wikipedia pronounces more authority. Without explaining the etymology, Wikipedia says between two hundred and a thousand men. Whatever the number, when the centurion says he understands authority he is not exaggerating. He'd have been rich and he had power. When he said he's not worthy to host Jesus, he's saying something extraordinary. Was there anyone else in the Roman Empire who he was not worthy to host? Anyone at all? It would have been a beautiful home and yet he knew. He saw a high King in that dirty footed wandering Jew. He believed he wielded the power to heal. He understood the power of the word. It's still a weird thing to say though, right? I command lots of people. I understand power. You can command this illness with your word alone and without seeing it. What did he know? He compared the people under his command to the illness under Christ's command? What did he see? This is God. The Creator. All the world, not just people, are subject to his command. Did he see that? How?
I've heard people suggest that he didn't know, he hoped. He hoped that Jesus could heal. I think that's crazy. He knew something. He compared their authority. I tell soldiers what to do and they obey. You tell diseases what to do and they obey in the same way.
Jesus did heal, but more importantly, he invited this non-Jew to the banquet laid for God's people. He would recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Faith in Jesus bought this rich Roman a seat at the table. He did not tell him to sell everything and follow. He did not tell him to give everything he had, or anything he had, to the needy. He didn't demand a public declaration of faith and conversion. Being rich? Not a problem. Powerful? Not a problem. In fact, his power is how he gained insight. He saw in Jesus something that he understood because of his own experience. Faith connected an aspect of the centurion with the same aspect in Jesus.
I'm not rich and powerful, but I get that. Faith connects something fundamental in my self to that thing in Christ. I'm drawn in by a thing I recognize, but exponentially and incomprehensibly bigger. Jesus became a man. He offered a relationship. You can know him because, no matter who you are, like the centurion you can see something you understand through your humanness. Something that he has in his humanness. And yet, much greater.
Labor and judgement in God's house? Another day. Today a rich man came home.
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