"I Have It On Good Authority"

The scene: a state dinner in Washington complete with politicians, crown princes, kings, queens, and movers and shakers. The food is fit for a hundred heads of state: course after course of the world's most sumptuous food; bottle after bottle of wine, desserts that are nothing short of obscene, gallons of gourmet, high-test coffee.

The distinguished senator, after stuffing his face and chug-a-lugging all those fine beverages, feels a strong urge to visit the little boy's room. Seeing that the Necessary Room is admissible only by key, the senator smiles at the attendant and puts on his best campaigning face.

"Hey, fella', good to meet ya'. How's everything going tonight?"

"Hey listen, I need the key to the men's room."

"Oh, I'm sorry Senator, but 27 other men are ahead of you."

The senator begins to squirm. "Twenty-Seven?!! Son, I can't wait that long. How about bumping me up a little closer?"

"Sorry Senator, but there are 27 people ahead of you and rules are rules. You ought to know a thing or two about making laws and rules."

"But son, I can't wait that long."

"Sorry."

"Sorry? Do you know whom you are saying 'sorry' to? I was a self-made millionaire by the time I was 18. I was in the state legislature at 21, Secretary of State at 25, and Governor at 31. I won the senate seat in my state by the largest margin in history. That's who I am.

"I have been in the senate for 18 years. I hold the purse strings of half the government. That's who I am.

"Every king, queen, president and petty despot in the world who needs foreign aid has to come to my office and pay homage to my power. That's who I am.

"So where do you come off with this attitude? Who in the world are you?" "I am the guy," the attendant grins, "who is holding the key to the men's room."

Some in authority use their power for good. They are entrusted with an invaluable prerogative to effect change and provide security. But others wear their authority on their sleeves, pack their power like a gun holster, and want everyone to know who's boss.

In the typical life of a typical person, you will encounter all kinds of people with all kinds of authority.

There's the authority of your parents, who are entrusted to mold your moral character. They have absolute power of you when you're young and their influence stays with you, for ill or for good, for the rest of your life.

There's the authority of your teachers, who are entrusted to mold your ability to think. Some of us have the blessings and/or curses of teachers for twelve years, some sixteen years, some nineteen years, and others, such as myself, will have 23 years of education under our belts. Those of us in the latter category have a few sheepskins and usually not much more in the way of salary to show for it.

There's the authority of your supervisor, the person or persons we call "The Boss." As all of us know, it's a great thing being under the tutelage of a good boss who uses his or her authority wisely and for good. But if we have one who throws his or her weight around, going to work every day can be like walking into a concentration camp. But the authority in society is not always personal and/or one-to-one. We all have to deal with authority that is often hard to put a face on. There's the authority of "the government," those delightful people like the senator whose job is to make laws, laws and more laws, collect fees, issue permits and regulate your face.

There's the authority invested in a group of my favorite people, the police, who, when using their authority wisely, prudently and judiciously, can be a wonderful thing. But when they are not using their authority wisely, and are little more than thugs with billyclubs and badges and give preachers speeding tickets for going 66 in a 65 zone, they can be a hellish force. The one segment of society, one can argue, that is vested with the most authority is the military. How many parents are killed in wars? What teacher is going to stand up at a blackboard and tell a soldier with a gun pointed at her to go to the Principal's office? What petty bureaucrat is going to ask a warrior standing on a street corner, "Excuse me, sir, do you have a carrying permit for that bazooka?" What cop is going to stop a 24-ton armored tank and cite the driver for failure to come to a complete stop?

No, we extend all kinds of authority, support and all kinds of big, big guns to the military. With that authorization comes the trust that these people who run around in uniforms and helmets and machineguns will use this authority to protect and defend the United States against all hostile forces that try to breach our borders or who pose a threat beyond our borders. We live in a time, at least in the United States and Canada, where authority structures are in a deliberate system of checks and balances. That hasn't always been the case, especially in the Middle East during the time of Jesus. There was never a group that wielded its authority more than the Roman military.

It's interesting that most of the 6th chapter of Luke consists of the most powerful and authoritative teaching in history. It comes in the form of what is known in Matthew as The Sermon on the Mount and what is known in Luke as The Sermon on the Plain. In this teaching, Jesus takes everything that the world believes about the expressive use of power and authority and stands it on its head. "The first shall be last and the last shall be first." "Turn the other cheek."

"He who would be greatest among you must become a servant." After inverting the equation of power and authority, Jesus goes to a city called Capernaum. He has no sooner entered the city limits where He's met by some folks with authority, some Jewish elders.

Last Saturday I was in St. Paul to perform a wedding. That morning Jeanette and I went to Taj Mahal of the American Free Enterprise System, the Mall of America. Whilst strolling through the first level, we were approached by a Greek-looking gentleman with a Greek accent who wanted to demonstrate some kind of nail buffing system. He demonstrated. We bought. Guess who has the best-looking nails in Longville?

If you are in a public place, 99% of the people who approach you are trying to get something from you. It may be to buy their product; it may be to ask directions or to find out what time it is; it may even to tell you that they're down on their luck and could you spare $20.00 so they could have lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company on the second floor of the Mall of America? Read the Gospels; you will find very few times when people approached Jesus and did NOT want something from Him. This is why it's so important when you pray‹during those times when you approach Jesus--that it not always be because you need something from Him. That's why praise and thanksgiving are so important.

Here's Jesus in Capernaum, the richest city in the district. Commercially, it's the busiest city in the district. He is probably in the marketplace of Capernaum, first century Israel's version of the Mall of America, when He's approached by Jewish elders, who aren't there to sell Him a nail buffer and moisturizing lotion. These elders, people entrusted with authority, approach Jesus, the person with the most authority anyone of anyone who ever walked the face of the earth, and request His presence at the home of the person who is, ostensibly, the greatest authority of anyone in the district: a Roman Centurion.

This Centurion is no ordinary John Q, Public. I don't know how, in the modern military, personnel attain higher ranks or even why they attain certain ranks. I don't know the degree in which politics is involved or how much length of service is factored into the equation. I do know that in the Roman army, promotion was based solely on merit, that the men (sorry ladies, you'd never find any Sergeant Rock in the Roman Army named Jennifer) who moved up the ranks were those who had proven themselves. In other words, promotions were based 100% on merit.

Perhaps the most important position in the Roman Army was the Centurion. He was the guy given authority in the heat of battle to make the most crucial decisions. The Centurion was the guy who had to be loved and respected not just by the generals and the guys with all the stars pinned to their chests, but also by the grunt soldiers who carried spears and did all the dirty work.

At the time of this morning's passage, there was no active war taking place in Israel. The Romans had overrun and conquered the place well before this. So the Centurion in this case was more like the military governor. In terms of authority, this Centurion was second only to our old pal Pontius Pilate.

The Centurion in Capernaum had authority entrusted to him by no less than Caesar himself, but he had more authority than this. When guys wearing uniforms come into a place with tanks and guns and flamethrowers, they have authority by the mere fact that they are the ones holding all the firepower. But there is an authority that is afforded to a person that comes not from the mere calligraphy on a sheepskin or the engraving on a badge. There's an authority that is afforded to a person that comes from his attitude and his behavior.

I was once asked by a seminary student about the title of Reverend. I told him that whenever you are ordained and don a Geneva gown, you are afforded a certain amount of respect and authority simply because you've been ordained and are wearing the gown. But you truly don't become a Reverend until you've earned the respect and loved your congregation and let them love you.

This Centurion was like the latter. He had earned the love and respect of the community. He had been given spiritual authority by these elders, or else they wouldn't have come on his behalf. He loved them; they loved him. They came not because the Centurion ordered them: they came because they loved and respected him.

So the elders ask Jesus to come to the Centurion's house. More amazing is that His presence is requested not because the Grand Poobah, the Big Provolone, the Centurion himself is sick: He's being asked to come to the house because the Centurion's slave is sick.

It might help to know something about slaves in this time and place in history. Slaves were, in the social order, somewhat equivalent to a toaster. They weren't people: they were things. They weren't people: they were property. Slaves who outlived their usefulness were often tossed out into the dumpster like worn-out linoleum or an eight-track tape player. So this unusual Centurion, who had earned the love of the Jewish people, had an unusual attitude toward this slave.

Those in civil and military authority wield a lot of power because they control the purse strings. A Roman Centurion could requisition funds to build his soldiers a new recreation center and the Roman government would have cut him a check with no questions asked. As civil governor, he could request a new amphitheater or a park or a new city hall for Capernaum on Monday. By Tuesday, he'd have the money in the bank and architect at the jobsite.

But when it came to religious things, the Centurion didn't have that kind of authority. The Romans were the Scotsmen and the Norwegians of their day: pretty tight with their money when it came to frivolous things. And what could be more frivolous than a synagogue? The Romans believed the Jews were barbarous, that the worship of this one God was little more than voodoo and superstition. And then there was the matter of all these animal sacrifices: absolutely disgusting.

But the Centurion wasn't at all like that. He didn't just love the Jews and hate their religion. There's every indication than this Centurion had actually, at least in his heart, become one of them. So when he builds them a synagogue, it's purely out of love for the people and for their God. And when he builds them a synagogue, he's not spending Caesar's money: he's spending his own money. In terms of sheer shekels, Centurions did okay, but they weren't rich by any stretchy of the imagination. Thus when the Centurion built a synagogue, he did so at great personal cost.

After Jesus hears the Jewish elders make their sales pitch, He readily agrees to come to the Centurion's house. Now, here's something you have to know about real, true, genuine authority: by coming to the Centurion's house, both of these men were ready to break the law. You see, it was against Jewish law for a Jew to enter the home of a Gentile. Equally, it was just as much against Roman law for a Jew to enter the home of a Gentile. But both of these men, the Centurion and Jesus, know something much greater is at stake here than the letter of the law, and that's the spirit of the law. More than once, Jesus asked if it was more important to keep a law that was meant for one situation than it was to break that law in order to adhere to the higher law of love.

So Jesus is on His way when He is approached by a second team of Jewish elders delivering a non E-mail that reads. "Lord, I'm not worthy to have You under my roof; nor am I so presumptuous that I'm even worthy to come to You in person. All You have to do is merely speak the word, and my servant will be healed. Like you, I'm a man who's under authority with people under my authority. All I have to do is say the word 'go' and they go. I say do this to my slave and he does it. So just say the word and it will be done."

So Jesus speaks the word and the servant is healed.

An army colonel of great position and power held a position in the Pentagon. He had the ear of Presidents and Joint Chiefs of Staff and was known for his efficiency and military prowess. Yet for the first thirty years of his life, he had been an alcoholic. A drunk. He had the temperament of a sergeant long after he had become a colonel. But the key to his life was turned one day when he met Jesus Christ, and his entire life changed.

The colonel was once addressing a group of medical people. He told them of his personality change: how he was once a drunk, but was now controlled by the Holy Spirit; how he had been severe, but was now considerate; how he had been completely self-serving, but was now considerate.

In the audience was a psychiatrist, a learned headshrinker who believed that personalities are firmly set early in life. No one, he believed, can undergo such a radical transformation that late in life. He rose to his feet and challenged the colonel.

"Well," said the colonel, "I'm sure not complete. I struggle to keep my temper under control, even though those who know me find that hard to believe. I have to work hard to put the needs of other before my own. And anyone having as much power as I have must work very hard not to abuse it. But at least I can say this: I am under new management. I now answer to another authority - the highest and truest there is."

We all have some kind authority; we all yield some kind of authority; and everyone us stands under authority. But the greatest thing is to trust Him who holds ultimate authority. Right now, He's the one holding life's greatest key.

© Rev. Duane Brown, 2004