Broken Stereotypes

Broken Stereotypes When Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, He said, “ I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Luke 7 v 9 Israel from the time of Abraham, the father and founder of the nation had an inheritance of faith in an unseen God who revealed Himself to Abraham and many others in his lineage through the generations. No other nation was privy to such revelations through history. Jesus was destined to hung on a tree, the cross to be cursed for sin that the Gentile or non-Jew nations might believe and be blessed. But Jesus was amazed that even before He made the connection possible between non-Jews and the God of Abraham, the first man of faith and Friend of God, that a Roman centurion believed in His power and authority as the Son of God. God delights in finding unusual faith in unusual places. People were amazed at the teachings, wisdom and the acts of miracles done by Jesus but Jesus Himself was amazed at the extent of faith of some people He came across like the centurion. The centurion broke all stereotypes. The average centurion would be a man of the world, who took pride in his own power and authority, his uniform the symbol of majesty of the Roman empire. He would naturally feel superior to the average Jew, a member of a conquered and subjugated nation. The average centurion would not even be concerned about the well being of his own soldiers and servants and treat them as dispensable tools in his service. But this nameless centurion believed that Jesus had authority over disease and could speak the word of authority and healing so that his servant is healed. The stereotype of a person in high position, prestige and authority not being a person of faith was broken. The stereotype that a pagan and a foreignor not being a person who believed in the unseen God was broken. The centurion sent his friends to ask Jesus to command the word of healing for his servant as he did not deem himself worthy of approaching Jesus. He did not want Jesus to visit his residence as he did not deem himself worthy of receiving the Lord. He was assured that Jesus’s mere word was sufficient to cause his servant’s healing. He subjected himself to the authority of Jesus even as his soldiers subjected themselves to his commands. Today, when people ask me, “ how can you be a witness of Jesus even while being a senior police officer?” I only have to point them to the fact that Jesus broke all stereotypes or casting people in iron and unchangeable moulds so that they conform to only some limited role expectations. Faith is needed for every human being, regardless of his or her station in life, abilities, resources, nationality, background. It does not make us weak or ineffective but rather it makes us stronger and effective in whatever roles we are performing. The more we flex and expand our faith in the face of challenges in life, the more the stereotypes, moulds and boundaries of expectation are broken, the more likely the Father will be amazed and pleased by the exercise of our faith. The centurion understood authority and power very well. He knew that while his own power was mundane and limited, the power and authority of God or of Jesus is unlimited. That faith and understanding made the impossible possible-the servant was healed even without Jesus saying the word of command of healing. Prateep V Philip