Having recently returned from the All-American Council in Seattle, I’ve been reflecting on the experience. As these things tend to be, I would describe it as a mixed bag: no doubt it was good to gather as Church in Seattle - to sense and experience the catholicity of the Church - to deepen connections with Orthodox friends across the country, and to discuss collectively important issues of the Church. There were points of light and points of darkness and contention... that is normal and to be expected. However, I’m aware of another temptation that was present, and in light to today’s Gospel is perhaps well to mention. At times one sensed a triumphalist spirit intruding into the assembly. It is easy in such a setting to get caught up in the pageantry and liturgical fanfare, the climate of doctrinal rigor, the assurance of what it means to be Orthodox, and miss the broader scope of how God is working in the world. Yes, God was present at the Council. Yes, God has given us a precious gift in the Orthodox faith; but No, that doesn’t make us ‘better’ than anyone else, and No, that doesn’t limit how God works beyond the institutional boundaries of the Orthodox Church.

            In this morning’s Gospel one can only imagine the shock Jesus’ words had upon his listeners. The Centurion was a gentile, a soldier most likely in the employ of Herod. Yet he has a deep respect for Judaism -- he loves the people and even built a synagogue for them. And he loves a lowly servant of his, a slave, who is close to death. His sensitivity to Jewish ritual obligations is obvious in the way he communicates with Jesus: he sends a delegation of elders to him to beg him to come. Then he astonishes Jesus with the further message that recognizes Jesus’ authority:  “Lord I am not worthy to receive you under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed...”

“And Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith’...”

            Jesus humbles his listeners by acknowledging the reality of faith outside of Israel. A gentile manifests more faith than anything he’s seen in Israel, in his own people. How might we understand this for today, for ourselves?

            First, by humbly acknowledging that the Spirit moves powerfully beyond the institutional borders of our Church.

Second, we can learn from examples of faith and holiness beyond the Orthodox Church. For us, to be authentically Orthodox paradoxically means recognizing the breadth of holiness present in non-Orthodox people. This doesn’t mean that we don’t acknowledge serious theological disagreements between ourselves and other believers, but nevertheless we can learn and benefit from the example of faith and holiness present in a Mother Teresa, in a Martin Luther King Jr, in a Dorothy Day, in a Dietrich Bonhoeffer... Let us never be afraid of those whom Jesus would say of today, “truly, I tell you, never have I seen such faith in Orthodoxy.”

            Such a spirit allows us to be Orthodox in a truly humble way, in a manner that transcends any sort of bogus triumphalism. Such humility, I dare say, will allow us to say with the Centurion, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed”.

Christ is Truly in our midst!