DISCUSSION
The expression “just say the word” typically is used to indicate one’s willingness to be ready to help someone else on command. However, in our reading for the day it us used to express something else, faith. Luke records the story of a centurion who had a servant that was at the point of death. When he hears about the power of Jesus, he sends word asking for the elders of the Jews to seek out Jesus to help him. Upon hearing that Jesus is on His way to heal his servant, the centurion sent out his friends to meet Jesus before He arrived. Their message was clear, “just say the word…”. The centurion knew that all Jesus had to do was say the word and his servant would recover. Jesus praises this man’s faith saying not even among His own people had He seen such faith. That is the kind of faith that Christ wants out of us; a faith that doesn’t demand signs, miracles or wonders, but a faith that says, “just say the Word”. Those words are not just the expression of great faith, they should also suggest an eagerness on our part to do just what He demands. I am sure that if Jesus had required the man to go and wash in a certain pool or apply some type of unusual substance to his servant, the centurion would have been willing to do whatever Jesus had asked. That is the kind of faith that we should strive for; a faith that is just willing to do whatever is needed…just say the word.