9/22/08

Shemariah

This post has been a long time coming.

Shemariah is a Canadian woman who's basically hand-holding me via email during my first steps into the Catholic faith. We "met" at the Catholic Answers message board. She was even so good as to send me an RSV bible, which has gotten good use. To send a treasured possession like that to a near total stranger takes a lot of faith!

In Matthew and Luke (I feel the Matthew retelling is superior,) there is an event where a Roman centurion comes to Jesus in complete humility seeking help for his treasured servant, who's almost like a son to him. He's dying and in great pain.

In the 1977 miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (the only filmed version of this passage that I've seen,) Jesus (Robert Powell) offers to go to the centurion's
(Ernest Borgnine) home. However, the centurion stops him: "Lord, I am not good enough for You to come to my house," and tells Jesus that although he is under authority, he has authority over a hundred men. If he tells one to "go there!" he will go there; if he says to another, "do this!" he will do it. The centurion says he need not personally see it done to know it has been done; knowing is sufficient. Likewise, if Jesus gives the word, the centurion says it will be enough.

Jesus marvels at the Roman, Pagan, Gentile centurion's humility and exalts him, stating that He has seldom seen this level of faith among the people of Israel. He then tells the centurion his faith has healed his servant, and this is the case.
Many of the Jews witnessing this are clearly upset. Jesus rebukes them, saying that all are welcome at His Father's table — children of Abraham and children of Pagans alike. (Later, when a soldier brusquely attempts to bar Mary from going to see her crucified Son, that grateful, humble Roman centurion sternly rebukes him and kindly helps Mary go to Him and also allows Mary Magdalene to go with her.)

Strangely, I hadn't heard about this event before I rented the DVD from Netflix. I'd seen bits and pieces of it when it was first aired on television, but never the entire six-and-a-half-hour film. I initially thought this particular scene had been invented specifically for the film. Not so.

This was actually the first passage I checked in my new prized possession. I immediately got the message: be humble.


Thank you, Beans!

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