A STORY OF A TRULY "catholic" HEART

 

I tell you, not even in Israel, have I found such faith!

Luke 7:1-10

The centurion mentioned in this gospel is one of the most attractive characters in all of the gospels. He is also a bundle of contradictions.  He was powerful and humble. He was strong and tender. He was a Gentile, but he was not afraid to ask a Jew for help. He was a military man with great faith. This is a story about stepping out of bounds.

First of all, this centurion’s extraordinary concern for a common slave stands out. A slave, back then, was considered a “thing” to be used or destroyed on a whim.  This centurion’s totally unusual and unexpected gentleness and love was steeping out of bounds so much that it moved Jesus.

Second, for a powerful Gentile army officer to come on his knees to ask a simple Jewish rabbi for help would have been extraordinary to say the least. Jews hated Romans and Romans hated Jews.  This stepping out of bounds opened him up to the scorn of both his Gentile friends and Jewish enemies.

Third, the centurion showed concern for Jesus by acknowledging that it would not be kosher because of Jewish law for him to actually come to his house to do the healing, but he obviously believed in the power of Jesus to work his cure from a distance.

Fourth, Jesus was so impressed with his faith, a faith that he had not experienced even among God’s “Chosen People” that he was moved to challenge popular notions of who is in and who is out in God’s eyes.

Brothers and Sisters, this story challenges us to have a “catholic” heart. The very word “catholic” means “universal” and “inclusive,” so the question for us today is this: How can we open our hearts wide enough to hold all the variety and difference we bump into each day? How do we open our minds enough to appreciate and enjoy the incredible range of perspectives and all the legitimate diversities around us? How do we even begin building a Jesus-like heart?

We begin by loving ourselves, our whole selves, every part of ourselves. If we cannot love ourselves, with all our own faults, contradictions and limitations, there is not hope at all that we can accept those things in others. In fact, if we don’t embrace our own faults, contradictions and limitations, we will probably project that self-loathing onto others without even realizing it!

Second, to have a heart that can hold a place open for others, especially those whom the world rejects, means that we must be people of great courage, guts and principle.  Rejection is the price we often have to pay for compassion. Jesus was condemned to death for making room in his heart, for making room in God’s kingdom, for embracing all people no matter what shape or condition they were in – even his enemies. It takes great courage to live in this world with a heart that big, that generous, and that compassionate! It takes great courage to maintain a “catholic” heart, especially in the meanness of today’s world! Sadly, the word “catholic” is more and more associated with people who readily join those who are more than willing to exclude, judge and condemn the very people they are called to embrace, protect and help!