A few days ago the US Congress cut veterans' benefits. Veterans are men and women who have served in the United States military and who have been promised that when they exit the military they will receive adequate compensation. The group directly affected are military retirees. For about what's happening please read this blog http://mickeyinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2013/12/open-letter-to-united-states-senate.html.
I could stop there, as I am not as well informed about what's happening as I should be, but I believe there's more to this issue then what the US government does or does not do. I ask the question, "What would Jesus response to the men and women in the armed services be? How would he treat them?"
In Jesus day, the Jews did not have a professional military. They were occupied by the Romans. There was enough hate and displeasure among the Jews about the Roman occupation, that it would have been entirely reasonable for Jesus to have a negative attitude towards the military. But he never did. Jesus treated the Romans soldiers the same way he treated everyone else. He healed their sick and he was amazed by their faith (Matthew 8:5-13). It was also a centurion who is the first to make a statement of faith after seeing Jesus death (Matthew 27:54). After Jesus death, the sign to the apostles that God cared for the whole world, not just the Jews, was through a centurion and his family (Acts 10:24-48). In the New Testament, God has a history of using Roman soldiers to show how much he loves the world. It's very accurate to say that God loves the men and women in and out of the military.
And that's where most of us stop. By us I mean American Christians. We remember historic military victories and tragedies, have sales and discounts on memorial day, perhaps even a service or two when we talk about the service our armed forces perform for our country and then we go silent for most of the year. This is not right.
Its not right that many men and women come back from deployments hurting and shell shocked, while the church does nothing. It's not right that many of these men and women struggle with inner demons from their experiences, and the church does not know how to approach them. It's not right that veterans walk the streets in homelessness, consumed by the weight of what they've seen and we do little to help them; they need more than a place to sleep, food each day, clean clothes and to be treated with dignity and respect. They need healing, and they need people who are unafraid to walk beside them through what they've seen and experienced. It's not only for the military to take care of its own; its our duty as Christ followers to stand with them, even if we conscientiously object.
If I were to use a word to describe how we should treat our active duty military, reserve forces, veterans and retired career military, it would be this word: brothers. We should treat them as brothers. In the New Testament to call someone brother did not always mean they were your blood relative. It often meant someone you shared life with, someone with whom there was no social hierarchy, someone who if they suffered you suffered too. A brother is not someone you let down, it's someone you always stand up for, regardless of the consequences.
My response to the government is that if you will not care for my brothers, then I will. I will support them and stand beside them. I will find a way to care for them, and make sure at any age they will never walk alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment