When he 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…
"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, but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."…
"He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases." (Mt 8:5-17)
As one believes so it happens. Here in this story we fine a gentile standing in front of Jesus with a request for healing. Jesus, on his side, is ready to go with him. But the faith of the centurion is something remarkable. Certainly, faith in this story is not a general religious attitude to life. Here, faith consists in recognizing the authority that Jesus possesses. Faith always brings its reward.
The faith of the centurion is a sign of what is going to happen in the future. That is the gentiles are going to come in a big way into the kingdom of God while the children of Abraham are going to be locked out of the kingdom.
Faith in Christian terms is, believing in Jesus. Living God is present in him. God has entrusted his authority to Jesus. This Jesus is exercising this authority for the salvation of the whole world.
