Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…

These words of a Centurion, are so important that we say them together every time we receive Holy Communion. They come from todays Gospel in Mathew Chapter 8, in the middle of a series of healings that demonstrate Jesus’ authority and that he is God’s son.

A centurion in popular culture is often portrayed as a military man, capable of savage brutal discipline on his soldiers. Indeed – some centurions were, but this one, we see in Lukes Gospel is well liked by the local Jewish community, well known by the elders, and he had funded the building of a synagogue. Perhaps he was also acquainted with their scripture and would have been familiar with the story from Genesis this morning in which Abram welcomes the Lord into his camp, feeds him and listens to him. He certainly would have known about Jesus’s healings in his local community. These were foretold by prophets that he may have heard read, and had explained to him – which also told of unrest and restitution of land to the Jewish people. There was quite a stir about, large crowds were on the move to see Jesus! As the local military commander in charge of an occupying force he would certainly have concerns about keeping the local peace!

The Centurion talks about authority. He himself is in a hierarchy, and expects men to quick march if he commands it, to fetch him food on demand, to anticipate his will, as a wise servant must. Equally, he knows he must respect those in authority over himself.

This influential and powerful man recognises in Jesus a greater authority than any other he knows. He recognises his own place in the Lord’s hierarchy. He is below the believers – they can enter each other homes, but Leviticus forbids them to enter an outsider’s house which would make them ritually unclean and thus forbidden to enter the synagogue until purified. He places himself below a leper! Immediately before todays incident Jesus has made himself ritually unclean by touching a leper to heal him. But the Centurian does not ask Jesus to come in contact with his servant, nor indeed with himself. He is asking Jesus to heal a lowly, but loved person in his household without even coming to the threshold.

There is a tradition that this centurion was at the crucifixion and was the one who said (in Matthew and Marks Gospels) that truly this was a son of God and in Luke ‘this man was innocent’. He may be the same centurion Cornelius, who Simon Peter visited, and influenced him to go and take the Good news to the Gentiles.

Perhaps most striking of all, is the way in which the Centurian addresses Jesus. Jesus, the wandering, unusual preacher and miraculous healer – is addressed by someone who is effectively a local chieftain, as Lord.

Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof: but I know you only have to say a word for our souls to be healed.

Not only are Sts Peter and Paul of great significance to all Christians - they also are the Patronal Saints of our Cathedral Church and the Diocese. The cathedral in Bristol was built 50 years ago and consecrated on June 29th. There have been an impressive sequence of musical and artistic events leading up to the Mass and much lovely music is available on this feed from YouTube:

Hoxa - Clifton Cathedral Music.

Abram, finds himself somewhat inconveniently in the same patch of land as his nephew Lot - and arguments are breaking out about space to herd the sheep and goats. Abram generously gives Lot a choice - to go left or right - and Lot chooses the obviously more fertile land of the Jordan Valley. Abram left with the less attractive land of Canaan is once again given a promise of uncountable descendants - which does rather seem to be coming true! In the end Lot has made the wrong choice - the people already in the Jordan are not happy to see him, and are already living a life is dissipation (Sodom and Gomorrah later being destroyed by God).

Once again, as in yesterday's story, Abram is used in the bible to show us that we need to listen to God's calling, and to follow him - even if it might seem more difficult to begin with.

Today is also a memorial of St Cyril. Cyril was an ardent seeker of truth and destroyed this who stood in its way - but after turmoil sought ways to make peace. Let us pray that his way of peacemaking may prevail in present day Ukraine and Russia.

In these early passages from Genesis, Abram has not yet had his name changed to Abraham, Sarai is not yet Sarah. The name change is a symbol of being chosen by God, for example at our confirmation we have a new name, as at that sacrament we are chosen by God.

Abram is here called by God, and with no quibble or quaver, he responds. Packing up everything and setting out on a long journey to another land is not typical behaviour for a 75 year old now, and must have been more of a challenge then. Because of his immediate, total response Abraham has become the example par excellence for most people of faith on this planet, as the way the to respond in faith to God’s call.

We all have our individual call to respond to - parent, priest, nun, deacon, - the vocations are as manly as there are people.

Can we choose to respond with our yes today?

St Luke presents the births of Our Lord and of his cousin John in tandem: first the angelic annunciation to Zachary, John’s priestly father; then the annunciation to Mary; then the birth of John; and finally, the birth of Jesus. John’s vocation was given before his birth as Jesus’ forerunner with the task of ‘preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.’ [Luke 1.17]

St John Baptist was the last and greatest of the prophets and our celebration of his birthday marks the dawning of a new dispensation. He himself declared of the coming Lord that ‘he must increase, and I must decrease’ [John 3.30] and, in each of the Gospels, it is John’s imprisonment that marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. [Mark 1.14] St John’s fearless preaching [Matthew 3.7-12] and his insistence that our spiritual lives profoundly determine how we must live in this world [Luke 3.7-14] set the stage for the Gospel that Jesus would proclaim. Many of Jesus’ earliest disciples had previously been disciples of John the Baptist [John 1.35-42], and the Passion of John Baptist [Mark 6.17-29] is a foreshadowing of the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus.