February 28

Luke 7:1 – 10

Link to Bible Verses: Luke 7

Community: To what communities do you belong?

I encourage you to spend a bit of time reflecting on each of the following questions before reading the second paragraph. Most of us typically navigate multiple communities fairly fluidly and without much awareness. And most of us belong (informally) to many communities. Why do you choose to be with the people you’re with? What holds you together? Who is in and who is out, and why?

The centurion in this story was not in Jesus’ community, clearly. But he sent Jews—members of Jesus’ community—to request a healing. Jesus, of course, could have denied the request because the request originated with a person who was at least an oppressor if not an outright violent enemy of the Jews. Later, when the centurion sent friends, presumably from within his own community and therefore not Jews, to Jesus, he did so with notable deference. Do you think this—the deference—made a difference in Jesus’ decision about performing the healing? Given Christ’s overall message, it’s hard to imagine the centurion’s friends’ demeanor made a difference. But what about us? What posture, demeanor, language, or need might we require in order for us to welcome an enemy or a stranger graciously and with dignity?

Thank you to Linda Land-Closson for writing our 2026 Lenten Devotions.