Chain of Command (a Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

I recently saw a TV show where a traveling faith healer set up a large tent outside London. People came, night after night, to beg the healer to intervene for them with God. They all wanted just one thing: to be well. And the healer, invoking the name of God, appeared to heal all manner of frailties.

That's the kind of scenario we associate with faith healers: while in the physical presence of someone claiming to represent God, people appear to be healed of what ails them. There are witnesses, witnesses who can praise the healer and God for the miracle. It's as close to a standard as we come with this kind of thing.

So, with that standard in mind, imagine this scenario: an army captain is stationed is a foreign country where there is a history of insurgents trying to overthrow his government's presence there. The captain couldn't be more different than the locals; wealthy, well educated, a favored son of his country, and has a completely different religion. One day, he is informed that one of his staff has fallen ill; so ill, in fact, he is likely to die. The captain goes to local community leaders and asks them to reach out to an itinerant preacher and (supposed) miracle worker, who is traveling through that part of the country. The captain would like for the preacher to come and heal the ailing man.

Can you imagine an officer in our army doing such a thing? As the more advanced country, our healthcare is almost certainly better than any available in a "second world" foreign outpost. And, even stranger, would one of our army officers seek help from a local "miracle worker"? It sounds too bizarre to be believed.

And yet.

That's what's going on in the Luke passage in this week's Lectionary selections. Jesus enters Capernaum and is soon approached by the Jewish elders on behalf of a Roman Centurion! The local military leader of the repressive regime that has conquered their country! And if that's not strange enough, they want Jesus to come with them to the Centurion's house so he can heal the Centurion's servant! But, while this may sound very unusual to us, Jesus appears to just take it in stride. He agrees to go.

And, though quite a bit out of the ordinary, at least it meets the faith healing standard: Faith healer does the healing in the presence of witnesses.

It's what happens next that shocks even Jesus.

While on their way, a message comes from the Centurion to Jesus: “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not presume to come to you. Instead, say the word, and my servant must be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my [servant], ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭7:6-8‬ ‭NET‬‬, http://bible.com/107/luk.7.6-8.net)

Scripture says Jesus was amazed, that He marveled at the Centurion's faith in Jesus' authority. Everyone else, even Jesus, was expecting the standard. Instead, because of this Gentile's surprisingly expansive faith, Jesus honors his request. He does not go to the Centurion's house, and yet, the servant is healed anyway.

The authority of Jesus has not diminished by even the tiniest part since this happened.

What does your faith allow?

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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 4 (9) (May 29, 2016)
First reading and Psalm
1 Kings 18:20-21, (22-29), 30-39
Psalm 96
Alternate First reading and Psalm
1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43
Psalm 96:1-9
Second reading
Galatians 1:1-12
Gospel
Luke 7:1-10
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Friday morning's coming! If you can join us for Lectionary Breakfast, we would be delighted. We still gather at 8:00 at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant for an hour not quite like any other. Food, faith, and a shocking amount of fun :-)

Enjoy the week!
Steve

New Lamps for Old (a Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

My earliest recollection of the Aladdin story comes from a cartoon I saw as a child. In it, Aladdin had a magic lamp. Whenever he rubbed it, a Djinn would grant his wish. There were two problems, though: (1) he stole the lamp from 40 thieves (who wanted it back), and (2) another, evil man wanted the magic lamp for his own, evil purposes.

Aware of these dangers, Aladdin, employing cartoon logic, "hid" the magic lamp at home . . . with other lamps. There is a scene where the evil man, having discovered the lamp's "hiding place," comes up with a scheme to possess it. Posing as a merchant, he walks down the street calling out "New lamps for old! New lamps for old!" At Aladdin's house, he makes his offer to the housekeeper who, thinking it a great bargain, swaps the old lamps for shiny new ones. And just like that, the magic lamp is possessed by the evil man who, presumably, is out the expense of all those new lamps. But, hey, magic lamp.

The housekeeper was tricked by an analytical fallacy: like many people, she concluded new was better than old, but without ever considering the key element---the lamps themselves. "New versus old" was enough of a basis, for her and for many of us, on which to make her choice. Like most of us, she believed, all things being equal, new was better.

New is not enough.

But make no mistake, quite a few people believe exactly the opposite. If you doubt that, go to an antiques auction, sometime, and see the passion folks bring to the battle to own something old. The fallacy remains, though, if the item itself should be ignored in the decision-making.

Old is not enough.

When Peter travels to the home of the Roman Centurion Cornelius in Acts 10, his traveling companions are all of the "old is better" school. They are expecting SOMEthing to happen, but are completely unprepared for what God decides to do: "The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles," (NRSV Acts 10:45) According to the old ways, only the descendants of Jacob would be granted a portion of God's spirit. Yet, here God went a NEW direction.

The mistake those early believers made was to view Jesus and His teachings through the lens of their religion, their culture, and their history (i.e., assuming the old way was the only way). Two millennia later, we must also guard against this kind of fallacious thinking. Everything---especially our culture and our religion---must be viewed and evaluated through the lens of Jesus and His teachings, not the other way round. In this case, we must go with the new.

In this case, there's no magic in that old lamp.
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For more on the blended tales of Aladdin and Ali Baba see: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin

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[Note the connections among this week's Lectionary scriptures]

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/

Sixth Sunday of Easter (May 10, 2015)
First reading
Acts 10:44-48
Psalm
Psalm 98
Second reading
1 John 5:1-6
Gospel
John 15:9-17

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Once again, we gather at the Waco "Egg And I" restaurant Friday morning. Join us at 8:00 for something new and fresh, some news that is truly good.

Enjoy the week!
Steve