Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Many of us enjoy the reminders of the importance of the men and women who have served in the armed forces. It is a time for us to reflect on who we are as a nation, what sacrifices have been made, and what opportunities lie ahead. But Memorial Day Weekend as reminds us of those who have died serving our country throughout history. And for me, it is a reminder that those who go out into the world to protect, fight, and follow orders, don?t always come back the same as when they left. Those who return home are changed forever. So as we remember the importance of the lives of the men and women who died protecting our freedom, it is my prayer that we continue to honor our servicemen and servicewomen who continue to serve our country, who served our country, and who continue to battle when they come home-whether that is through physical, emotional, or mental injuries. Let us take a moment of silence as we remember those who have lost their lives protecting freedom for us and others around the world.

Luke 7:1-10

After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, ?He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.? And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, ?Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ?Go,? and he goes, and to another, ?Come,? and he comes, and to my slave, ?Do this,? and the slave does it.? When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, ?I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.? When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

For the next three weeks, we are going to continue on the Journey of Life through the Gospel of Luke chapter 7. And here is a quick reminder, the author of Luke is also the author of Acts. So Luke is the story of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus and Acts is the story of how the church came into being out of understanding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In this chapter, we are going to look at how the gospel of Luke is reminding us that Jesus came for all, not just the Jewish people. In addition, Jesus is not just anyone?he is a prophet through whom God is using to visit the people. We know that Jesus is the Son of God, but not everyone during that time believed that perspective. Our story for today is about a Centurion, a man who was a soldier. I invite you to pray with me as we continue our journey of life through Luke chapter 7.

I love when the scriptures for the day line up with what is happening in our lives. For todays passage falls in line with Memorial Day perfectly! Who are our veterans again? If you are willing, would you help me for a few minutes? I have some questions for you that I will need short answers on: Were there people of different religions, upbringings, cultures, classes in the divisions that you served? Were people treated differently based on any of those things? Ok, interesting. Were you required to listen to your superiors? Most of the time, did you do so reluctantly or willingly? Where you ever allowed to question those in authority? Were there some of your superiors that you always listened to no matter what because you trusted them? Last question, in the places where you served, were their people happy and upset you were there? Thank you very much.

The reason I wanted to do that exercise was because of the centurion who is in our story for today. You see, he would have been in the army of the time. He would have been a gentile who would probably have been ordered to treat the Jewish people differently because of their beliefs and culture. In addition, the Jewish people would have treated the centurion differently, maybe lived in fear of him a little bit, and worried what would happen if they interacted with him. Yet, this centurion, this Gentile, in our passage is different. Although considered an outcast by the Jewish people, the gospel of Luke is telling us something very important. Luke is telling us ?the other? matters and is integral to the kingdom of God.

Here are some of the highlights from this passage:

?A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death.? The slave was a Jewish man. So regardless of cultural differences, the centurion valued him and was worried about him.
?When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave.? The centurion, in just hearing about Jesus, believed that Jesus could heal his slave. He didn?t need to see anything, he just believed because of what he heard. In addition, the Jewish elders he sends, have so much respect for the centurion, they plead with Jesus on his behalf.
Jesus decided to head towards the house, but ?the centurion sent friends to say to him.? By this act of the centurion, he is acting out of humility towards Jesus, complimenting Jesus to be an even greater person and benefactor than he is himself. Again, the humility in this action is huge. It is also a sign of goodwill towards Judaism as well as acknowledging his power.
?For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ?Go,? and he goes, and to another, ?Come,? and he comes, and to my slave, ?Do this,? and the slave does it.? The centurion knows what is it like to have authority and he expects it from the soldiers under him. The slave who is sick has always been faithful and obedient to the centurion. So they have a mutual respect for one another, one that comes over time and care for one another, even though they are from different cultures, classes, and not of the similar faith.
?When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, ?I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.? Jesus compares the gentile centurion?s faith favorable to the faith that is found in Israel. Someone who is an outsider, an outcast of the Jewish faith, is considered to have favorable faith in the eyes of the prophet Jesus.
?When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.? Then the friends left, arrived home, and the slave was healed. Jesus doesn?t even speak a word and a healing happens. The centurion recognizes the power of Jesus and this recognition does not require Jesus to physically present to perform the healing.
And for those who were present for this event would have remembered the stories of old. They would have remembered the story in 2 Kings about Naaman who was healed by Elisha and the little girl who intervened on his behalf to help he become healed. Naaman, an army leader in a foreign land, who had leprosy was brought into a place of healing because of the young Jewish girl and the prophet of God. The people witnessing this event between the centurion and Jesus would have remembered the stories of the prophets of God healing people who would be outcasts and others.

As we think about this passage this week and the implications for us today, I want us to think about what it means to welcome the outcast, the outsider, the other. Are we showing rejection to people? Or are we showing acceptance? I will tell you one of the things I love about the people of our congregation is the level of acceptance I see that happen here. Do you feel that too? And it is something that is a value that we exhibit through our welcoming nature. As you walk through your days this week, I want you to think about how you reject or accept others. When you see someone who is different than yourself, listen to what is being said in your head about that person. As you listen to your thoughts, think about how you are being rejecting or accepting of that other persons. Then think about how Jesus reached out to the other and the outcasts of society. Remember that we are to embody the spirit of Jesus in all that we do, even moreso when we are in situations with people who use to be? rejected rather than being accepted.