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The Gospel reading for the 4th Sunday after Pentecost presents us with an awe-inspiring man. The pericope is about the healing of the centurion’s servant. First, we see with how much respect and humility the centurion approaches the Lord. He disregarded his rank, in the sense that the Jews, being Roman subjects, were lower in rank than the Romans. So, we not only see a Roman asking help of a Jew, but a commander asks help of a civilian. By approaching the Lord, this man renounced a certain stature out of love for his servant. He was a true man. Beyond all else, he showed such faith that the Lord marvels at it and highlights it as an example for all.

Saint Sophrony Sakharov says: “whatever man does in this world, it serves as preparation for a personal encounter with God,” on man’s own terms, that is. Everything serves this personal dialogue with God. The centurion approached God from the perspective of his position as centurion. He thus expresses his faith in terms specific to his rank. Whoever fulfills his duty honestly, industriously, and honorably, if he cares about other people – all these teach him to become a true human being. Afterwards, the encounter with the Lord and His Gospel simply perfects that person. That is how the Desert Fathers were. A novice came to an Abba and asked for a word, and the latter began reciting a psalm. After the first verse, the novice stops him: “Stop, that’s enough, let me go fulfill this and when I’m done, I’ll come back for the next one.” In our times, we hear many words, but we don’t put them into practice so that they can transform us. Whoever is active, however, has need of few words of instruction. We see this with the centurion. He learns quickly how to relate to Christ, because he is a person who does his job very well.

Therefore, we observe this extraordinary faith in the centurion, which the Lord praises. We observe how He tells him: “May it be according to your faith” (Matthew 8:13). The centurion didn’t ask for a guarantee that his servant had been healed, even if the latter was far away at home. He believed, he went his way calmly, and his servant was healed “at that same hour.”

The Lord presents us with this example, like a lamp on a candlestick, so that we can learn from it. We worry very much over life’s problems. And rightly so, because they are real, otherwise we wouldn’t worry about them. But then we remain sequestered in our problems, in temptations, in evil. And we attend too much to them, like Saint Peter with the waves. Instead of looking at the Lord, he looked at the waves and winds, and he was sinking (cf. Matthew 14:30). This is what we, human beings, do. But the centurion shows us what ought to be our true worry. We shouldn’t worry that the devil has power, that people are evil, that society harms us, that people are depressed and alienated, etc.; in a word, we shouldn’t contemplate evil. What ought to preoccupy us is how to acquire the centurion’s level of faith. Our Lord says the same, that if we had faith, we would tell the mountain to move, and it would move (cf. Matthew 17:20-21). Likewise, the “mountain” of problems and temptations in our lives, the mountain of evil, can be moved into the sea, it can be dissolved with prayer, if we have faith.

Therefore, our worry should be how to succeed in increasing our faith, because that will resolve all our problems. That is why Elder Ephraim of Arizona said: “Prayer is indeed extraordinarily powerful, if we strongly believe that it can be fulfilled.” Very well, I’m not there yet, but what can I do to get to that level? This should be our worry. It doesn’t matter that evil overwhelms me. That’s not my problem. My job is to discover how to acquire the faith that resolves all my problems. And if become our main worry… it means that I’ve embarked on the path that leads to their resolution.

This problem grabbed the Apostles’ attention, too: “Lord, increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). And the Lord gives them the recipe: after fulfilling everything He commanded them to do, they should call themselves unworthy servants (cf. Luke 17:10). There are two aspects here: the first is to fulfill the commandments, and the second is to remain humble.

Another very good and practical recipe to increase our faith is captured in the words of Elder Arsenie Papacioc: “Learn how to die and rise every day for Christ our Lord.” How do I “die”? Like this: you say a word to me, and I would retort with many, but out of love for Christ I stay silent. Thus, I’ve died to what I wanted to do and I have risen for Christ’s word. In other words, I was patient for Him. I died and rose again, for Him. I show my faith in small things and thus my faith increases within me. Because if I die and rise every day for Christ, I prove that I believe in Him. I believe so much that I suspend myself and fulfill His words. I don’t act however makes me feel good or gives me comfort, but in the way that comforts Him. I show my faith, at my level, in small things. As He said, if someone asks you to go a mile with him, go two (cf. Matthew 5:41), then I’ll do the same in my life. If someone asks me to wash the floor, then I’ll do the dishes too, for His word. If I do this, then my faith increases. We fulfill the Gospel out of love for Christ, at the level of each day. This is what ought to preoccupy us, because in this way, I slowly obtain the centurion’s faith, which can move mountains.