Homily Two for the Fourth Sunday of Matthew
(4th Sunday of Pentecost)
By St. John of Kronstadt
(4th Sunday of Pentecost)
By St. John of Kronstadt
When Jesus heard (the centurion's answer), He marveled and said to those who followed Him: "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel" (Matt. 8:10).
In today's Gospel, brethren, the Lord praised the faith of one centurion, who asked the Lord to heal his servant who was very sick. It was like this: The Savior entered the city of Capernaum. His disciples and a great multitude followed Him. Here the centurion appears to Him with a bow, and says to Him: "Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed and grievously afflicted." Jesus says to him: "I will come and heal him." The centurion answered and said: "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And 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.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who followed Him: "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel." And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way, and as you have believed, let it be done to you." And his servant was healed from that very hour (Matthew 8:6–10, 13).
Why was the Lord surprised at the centurion’s faith and praised it so much that He said: I have not found such faith among the Jews, who knew from the Scriptures about the coming to earth in the flesh of the almighty Son of God? Because, brethren, the centurion’s faith was the most reasonable (not blind) and the most simple, exalted and firm. His words are simple to the Lord; spoken from a straightforward soul; what, it would seem, is special about them? But no: in these simple words of the centurion is seen his firmest confidence in the Divine sovereignty and omnipotence of the Lord. And I, O Lord, as he says thus to the Lord, am a person in authority; but my authority is an insignificant likeness of Your universal authority; and if I, an insignificant commander, command this or that subordinate to do this or that, and they do it; then will not everything that pleases You be done by Your word? You are the Creator and Lord of all, to Your word all creation obeys. Therefore, say only the word, and my servant will be healed.
Do you see, brethren, how bright, simple and firm is the centurion's faith in the Divine omnipotence of the Savior? The Lord Jesus Christ seeks such faith among us. And whoever has such faith, hope to receive from Him everything that you ask. Do you need cleansing of sins? You will receive it. Healing from illness? You will be healed. Do you need help in your affairs? You will receive it. So, brethren, when you ask God for anything, have the most firm faith, without the slightest doubt, be absolutely sure that for God, as the beginningless King of glory, from Whom all things received their being and by Whom all things exist, nothing is impossible, that everything obeys Him, beginning with the Seraphim to the last being. He is the God of spirits and of all flesh, and if it pleases Him, things that do not exist will become things that do, and He will create anew things that have not been created. He calls those things which do not exist as though they were (Rom. 4:17).
You know that everything which an unlimited king does in his state, he does as he wishes; when he issues his royal word to his subjects, the entire kingdom responds with readiness to obey him and does what the king wants. For example, if the Sovereign declares that the lower agricultural class in our homeland should be free – millions of people are freed, and they bless the king for his benevolent rule. If the word of a king, who is a man like all of us, has such an effect in his kingdom, and to his word all must obey, then what might not the word of God achieve in His infinite Kingdom? If a king corrects injustices in his realm and protects the corrected through laws, what injustices would not the Lord of all rectify, especially when these injustices in His creation arise precisely from our own wrongful, unlawful lives, and as a punishment for our wrongdoings, for our lawlessness? So, believe with all simplicity, firmly, without doubt, that for God, in His infinite Kingdom, nothing is impossible, and all things obey His word. Whether it is necessary to stop the sun, extinguish the stars, move mountains from place to place, transform fire into dew, turn water into wine or wine into blood, make stones into people, heal the sick, resurrect the dead, justify the penitent sinner, elevate the unknown and poor to nobility and wealth, or make the rich poor – all will happen, has happened, and continues to happen at His command. Therefore, believe this when you pray to God, and you will receive everything, and as it was said to the centurion, the Lord will say to you: "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you" (Matthew 8:13). Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.