WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:03.500 And peace to you from God our Father and from my Lord and Savior Jesus 2 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:04.000 Christ. 3 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:06.800 Amen. You may be seated. 4 00:00:11.200 --> 00:00:17.500 There's a beautiful painting from Paolo Veronese in 1571, 5 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:20.800 of Our Gospel reading this morning. 6 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:25.000 It's depicted on page three of your bulletin if you'd like to take a 7 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:26.700 look but no worries. 8 00:00:26.700 --> 00:00:29.500 I will describe it as well. 9 00:00:31.400 --> 00:00:38.500 On the left you see Jesus and some perhaps disciples all clumped 10 00:00:38.500 --> 00:00:42.800 together standing with one another on the right. 11 00:00:42.800 --> 00:00:45.300 You see the Centurion? 12 00:00:46.300 --> 00:00:51.600 Several attendants fellow soldiers gathered around him notice how they 13 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:57.600 are also clumped together all of them touching one another these two 14 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:02.100 groups of people stand in the painting depicted there. 15 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:08.600 And yet there is a divide notice the Divide between these two groups 16 00:01:08.600 --> 00:01:14.000 all the way down to the base of the painting So Close are their feet 17 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:15.100 and the robes. 18 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:18.300 And yet so very far apart. 19 00:01:18.300 --> 00:01:24.100 It's that distance between Jesus and the Centurion. 20 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:28.900 And how that distance is bridged. 21 00:01:29.800 --> 00:01:32.700 That I want to explore with you today. 22 00:01:35.300 --> 00:01:42.500 Notice the young man Jesus standing there hand outstretched a young 23 00:01:42.500 --> 00:01:48.200 man, a simple man, a peasant, a poor man. 24 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:53.900 And this centurion on the right side of the painting comes up bedecked 25 00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:54.700 in gold. 26 00:01:55.800 --> 00:02:03.900 Gold, that's probably quite accurate a century in ruling over 80 to a hundred 27 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:06.500 people was at the pinnacle of his career. 28 00:02:06.500 --> 00:02:09.400 This was a powerful man. 29 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:12.500 And here he comes 30 00:02:13.900 --> 00:02:20.600 to kneel before a poor Jewish rabbi. You can see the two soldiers 31 00:02:20.600 --> 00:02:24.100 behind the centurion and almost pulling at him. 32 00:02:24.100 --> 00:02:28.300 Why, why are you kneeling down in front of this man? 33 00:02:28.300 --> 00:02:29.600 Are you crazy? 34 00:02:29.600 --> 00:02:32.200 What does he have to offer you? 35 00:02:35.500 --> 00:02:38.000 There's a cultural divide. 36 00:02:39.500 --> 00:02:46.900 Jesus and his disciples are clearly dressed as poor Jewish people. Now 37 00:02:46.900 --> 00:02:55.500 in the painting Jesus has pretty fair skin and let's be honest people 38 00:02:55.500 --> 00:03:02.000 from the Middle East people who are of Jewish descent as Jesus was 39 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:08.100 we're probably browner or more olive than the Jesus depicted here. 40 00:03:08.100 --> 00:03:11.400 Certainly browner than I am. 41 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:13.900 I think that's fair to say. 42 00:03:15.500 --> 00:03:22.500 Notice that there is no racial difference between the Jesus and the 43 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:27.800 Centurion as depicted and yet I think the painter is quite aware of 44 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:33.500 the cultural separation between these two people. Our text makes it 45 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:35.100 even clearer. 46 00:03:35.100 --> 00:03:37.300 Jesus comes 47 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:42.700 and when the centurion asks, will you heal my servant? 48 00:03:44.100 --> 00:03:50.300 One biblical translation translates Jesus response says I will come and 49 00:03:50.300 --> 00:03:50.800 heal him. 50 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:55.000 But our dear brother, Dr. 51 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:59.900 Jeff Gibbs has suggested that there is an alternative translation. 52 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:08.600 Perhaps Jesus real response was shall I myself come and heal him? 53 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:13.000 Not as a statement, but as a question. 54 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:20.000 That makes a lot of sense there weren't question marks in the text and 55 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:27.000 it can truly be translated either way. But Jesus later says I was sent 56 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:33.100 only to the Lost Children of the House of Israel not to Gentiles like 57 00:04:33.100 --> 00:04:39.100 the Roman Centurion. And we know from reading the New Testament that 58 00:04:39.100 --> 00:04:42.800 there were cultural divide between Jews and Gentiles. 59 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:48.700 That's why the Roman centurions perhaps knows that he can't ask Jesus 60 00:04:48.700 --> 00:04:50.400 to come under his roof. 61 00:04:50.400 --> 00:04:56.000 The Roman Centurion knows the cultural barriers between Jews and 62 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:56.800 gentiles. 63 00:04:57.900 --> 00:05:01.000 Shall I myself come and heal him? 64 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:06.500 How does the Divide get bridged? 65 00:05:08.200 --> 00:05:14.100 It's that divided between Jesus and the centurion in that is so very 66 00:05:14.100 --> 00:05:18.000 troubling, but maybe you can relate to that. 67 00:05:19.400 --> 00:05:26.400 Maybe because of your own sin, you know full well at times your guilt 68 00:05:26.400 --> 00:05:27.800 cries out to you, 69 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:30.600 how separated from God you really are. 70 00:05:32.400 --> 00:05:39.100 Maybe it's for a lack of personal devotions or a failing worship or 71 00:05:39.100 --> 00:05:40.400 prayer life. 72 00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:49.300 But maybe it's something else maybe it is a cultural divide the shame 73 00:05:49.300 --> 00:05:55.400 of being a different ethnicity or a different race from what many of 74 00:05:55.400 --> 00:05:59.900 the other people in the body of Christ are maybe you felt that at 75 00:05:59.900 --> 00:06:05.800 times and it has somewhat cut you off from God and his gifts. 76 00:06:08.500 --> 00:06:11.800 There are plenty of divides 77 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:13.900 among Us 78 00:06:15.300 --> 00:06:16.100 and God. 79 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:24.300 And yet Jesus bridges the divide this morning with simple words. 80 00:06:24.300 --> 00:06:25.800 Yes, 81 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:30.600 we see Jesus with his outstretched hand. Notice St. 82 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:36.200 Peter presumably to the right of Jesus trying to keep Jesus and 83 00:06:36.200 --> 00:06:41.500 himself and his robes away from the centurion and but Jesus openly 84 00:06:41.500 --> 00:06:47.200 stretches out his hand, but in the text, it's Jesus word that bridges 85 00:06:47.200 --> 00:06:51.500 the divide. Jesus speaks to this man. 86 00:06:53.400 --> 00:06:58.900 Jesus heals his servant with a mere word. 87 00:07:00.100 --> 00:07:04.900 Why is that important in Matthew chapter 8 well in Matthew chapter 7 88 00:07:04.900 --> 00:07:09.400 we just heard The Sermon on the Mount and at the end of The Sermon on 89 00:07:09.400 --> 00:07:13.900 the Mount Remember The Sermon on the Mount which we are focusing on 90 00:07:13.900 --> 00:07:17.800 during this week of epiphany at the end of The Sermon on the Mount. 91 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:25.300 The whole focus is on building your life on the solid rock of Jesus 92 00:07:25.300 --> 00:07:30.800 authoritative word and not on the shifting sands of worldly wisdom. 93 00:07:32.300 --> 00:07:38.500 For Matthew the Centurion who believes that Jesus authoritative word will 94 00:07:38.500 --> 00:07:43.900 bridge the divide. For Matthew the centurion in his an object lesson for 95 00:07:43.900 --> 00:07:49.000 people who would hang on Jesus word. 96 00:07:52.300 --> 00:07:56.100 Jesus does in fact heal the centurions servant. 97 00:07:58.200 --> 00:08:03.400 But Jesus also speaks a word specifically to the centurion in himself to 98 00:08:03.400 --> 00:08:05.500 bridge the divide. Truly 99 00:08:05.500 --> 00:08:08.100 I tell you Jesus says with no one in Israel 100 00:08:08.100 --> 00:08:09.500 have I found such faith. 101 00:08:09.500 --> 00:08:14.100 I tell you many will come from east and west and recline a table with 102 00:08:14.100 --> 00:08:19.100 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven while the sons of the 103 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:21.400 Kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness. 104 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:28.400 This centurion and who should not belong at Jesus table gets an 105 00:08:28.400 --> 00:08:28.700 invitation. 106 00:08:31.300 --> 00:08:31.900 Come 107 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.799 sit at my table at my table. 108 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:37.799 At the the cross 109 00:08:39.500 --> 00:08:45.000 and at the resurrection that really gets going the Gentile welcoming 110 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:45.800 to the table. 111 00:08:48.100 --> 00:08:52.400 But it starts with Jesus being put on a cross because that's what 112 00:08:52.400 --> 00:08:58.100 people in culture do with those to would bridge another culture. 113 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:05.900 They put Jesus on a cross for many reasons but perhaps because he was 114 00:09:05.900 --> 00:09:10.600 bridging divides with Gentiles like this Centurion. 115 00:09:12.100 --> 00:09:19.500 Like with me and you and that is resurrection and at the Mount of 116 00:09:19.500 --> 00:09:25.500 Ascension Jesus tells his disciples his wish go and make disciples of 117 00:09:25.500 --> 00:09:27.000 all Nations. 118 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:30.600 Even me and you. 119 00:09:33.300 --> 00:09:34.000 The bridge 120 00:09:35.400 --> 00:09:36.200 between that 121 00:09:38.200 --> 00:09:39.800 centurion and in Jesus 122 00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:42.800 is bridged by the word. 123 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:50.400 It's a word which welcomes you this day to Jesus table to take your 124 00:09:50.400 --> 00:09:55.000 place with Abraham, Isaac Jacob and the many Saints. 125 00:09:56.500 --> 00:10:00.600 It's a bridge it's a word with sweeps away your sin and forgiveness. 126 00:10:02.400 --> 00:10:03.700 It's a word which 127 00:10:04.800 --> 00:10:08.000 reaches deep into shame 128 00:10:09.900 --> 00:10:14.600 of perhaps being what some have tolled you or maybe you have even 129 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:19.400 yourself sometimes wondered of being the wrong race the wrong 130 00:10:19.400 --> 00:10:26.000 ethnicity the wrong skin color Jesus word reaches in and pulls you 131 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:28.200 to his table. 132 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:32.600 Thanks be to God. 133 00:10:34.300 --> 00:10:36.300 That Jesus bridges the divide. 134 00:10:37.300 --> 00:10:38.800 But he also calls us 135 00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:46.700 to bridge those divides by being his people welcoming all nations in. 136 00:10:46.700 --> 00:10:55.000 By going out perhaps some sometimes uncomfortable, but I going out and 137 00:10:55.000 --> 00:11:01.300 welcoming new people different people people don't seem to belong into 138 00:11:02.300 --> 00:11:03.100 this table 139 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:06.100 around our Lord Jesus 140 00:11:07.800 --> 00:11:10.500 and his powerful powerful word. 141 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:13.000 in the name of Jesus 142 00:11:14.300 --> 00:11:14.900 Amen. 143 00:11:15.800 --> 00:11:17.100 We stand to sing our hymn.