Sermons:
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A Controversial Healing
based on Luke 7:1-10
by Rev. Frank Schaefer
Many of us are familiar with this story from
Sunday school days. Jesus healed the servant of a
Roman centurion. This story is actually recorded
in Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10. When The
centurion made his plea for his servant, Jesus had
compassion for him and his slave and said he was
willing to come to his house, though he apparently
lived quite a distance away. It's absolutely
remarkable that Jesus is actually willing to do
this in light of the source of the request. The
centurion is not only part of the occupying force
he is an officer. Jesus truly practiced what he
preached. He loved the enemy, he never turned
anybody in need away.
What's also pretty remarkable is that the
centurion could have had the most sought-after
teacher and healer of the time come to his house.
But he said there was no need for Jesus to come to
his house. Perhaps he didn't want to trouble Jesus
unnecessarily. Or maybe he was embarrassed about
inviting Jesus into his house. We don't know. But
apparently, this centurion truly believed that if
Jesus simply spoke the word, his servant would be
healed--long-distance. And Jesus was amazed at the
centurion's faith and his servant was reported to
be healed.
This is not your ordinary miracle story. This
story is not only remarkable for the facts I
already mentioned, it is also remarkable because
there is a real possibility that the centurion and
his “slave” were actually a homosexual couple.
This becomes clear when we look at the the
Greek word used in Matthew’s account that refers
to the servant of the centurion as pais.
The word pais had three possible meanings
depending on the social context. It could mean
“son or boy;” it could mean “servant,” or it could
mean a particular type of servant — one who was
“his master’s male lover.” Often these servants
were younger than their masters.
To our modern ears, the idea of having a love
relationship with a servant seems outrageous. But
we have to place this in the context of ancient
cultural norms. Under the laws of Jesus' time,
even a wife was viewed as the property of the
husband, with a status just above that of slave.
Like today, it was not uncommon for an older man
to marry a younger woman. In that culture, a man
gave money or goods to the father of his bride,
then the father gave her away into marriage. A
reminder of this is still present in the
modern-day wedding ceremony in the symbolic ritual
of the bride's father shaking the groom's hand,
then giving his daughter to him in marriage.
Gay man in first-century Judea who wanted a
male “spouse,” similarly acquired someone
contractually to serve that purpose. A servant
purchased to serve this purpose was often called a
pais.
Is it possible that pais referred to in Matthew
8 and Luke 7 was the Roman centurion’s male lover?
Let’s look at the biblical evidence:
Our text provides three key
pieces of textual evidence for this possibility. [continue]
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