And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented."Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. "For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, `Go!' and he goes, and to another, `Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this!' and he does it." Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. "I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment. (Matthew 8:5-13,NAS)
Jesus marveled at the Roman centurion’s faith.
Jesus didn’t endorse Imperial Rome - an officer of Imperial Rome endorsed Jesus. The centurion acknowledged a kingdom other than Rome, and a king other than Caesar. And King Jesus received him.
Were Jesus a modern Neoconservative, he’d have pledged allegiance to Rome, and thanked the centurion for "preserving freedom." (Never mind that Neoconservatives are the enemies of freedom)
But Jesus is no jingoist.
Had Jesus been a modern Progressive, he’d have waxed indignant, chastising the centurion for supporting a regime that upheld slavery, wars of conquest, and occupation of foreign lands. (Never mind that Progressives historically support the worst tyrants)
But Jesus isn’t a political agitator.
King Jesus transcends political views. He called Apostles from the extreme left (Matthew the tax collector), and the far right (Simon the zealot).
He hasn’t come to take sides - He’s come to take over!
Therefore, whether you believe in the justness of some, all, or none of our several wars - don't insult the troops. But don't pretend their deployments around the world "keep us free."
Today, Memorial Day, is supposed to be the day we mourn the nearly 1.5 million who didn’t survive the wars we sent them to fight. They did their duty, and paid the ultimate price.
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