Palestine had been under
Roman Occupation for almost a century during the time of Jesus. With the death
of Herod the Great, direct control was put in effect. Thus, a Roman Governor, Pontius
Pilate, run Judea by the time of Jesus’s ministry.
Historians tell us that
most Jews hated the Romans. They hated Roman Centurions more. And the feeling
was mutual. Hatred for centurions was especially pronounced because the
centurion, not the emperor nor the Roman senators, served as the face of the
empire for majority of the occupied peoples. In other words, centurions were
the enemies; the concrete presence of the occupying forces; the oppressor; the
colonizer. Moreover, a centurion led
the detachment that executed Jesus.
If we agree with the
historical argument that Matthew and Luke shared a source that predates both
gospels, then we have a Jesus tradition that
celebrates inclusivity at its finest.
The narrative, especially
Luke's version, introduces Jewish leaders that defy our stereotype. They love
the centurion. It also presents a centurion that defies our stereotype. This
centurion loves the Jewish people, even building a synagogue for them. Finally,
it presents a Jesus who makes many uncomfortable. He heals the centurion’s
younger male lover or boyfriend who was very ill and close to death.
Many of you here know that two
words play important functions in the narrative. Doulos and pais. Doulos is
always translated slave. While pais is usually translated servant. But we also
know that pais can be translated servant, son, daughter, child, child servant,
or younger male lover or boyfriend. Or beloved.
Caesar Augustus, probably because of
the debacle the Legions experienced in Germany because there were so many
wives, children, and slaves with the soldiers decreed a ban on heterosexual
marriages for members of the Roman Imperial Forces. The ban was still in force
during Jesus’s time. The ban lasted until 197 CE. Thus, it was not uncommon for
Roman soldiers to have same sex relationships, especially with younger men.
The Occupied Jews knew this meaning of
pais, Matthew, Luke, and their source knew this meaning of pais, Greek writers
and philosophers spoke of pais this way, I’m pretty sure Jesus did as well. And
when the centurion came to him, most probably at his wits end looking for
healing for his ill and dying beloved, Jesus healed him.
Jesus did not heal him because he loved
the sinner but hated the sin. He healed him because he was sick and close to
death. Lest we forget, the Jewish elders, the centurion, and Jesus were united
by one objective, the healing of the Centurion's younger partner; his beloved.
Jesus
did not care whether the centurion was a Gentile, an enemy of his people, and
uncircumcised. He did not care if he had the right religion, the right creed,
the right skin color, the right sexual orientation and gender identity …
What Jesus saw instead was this enemy
who loved the Jews so dearly that the Jews loved him back. He only saw the love
of the centurion for his ill and dying boyfriend, a love that transgressed
borders in order to seek healing and restoration for the beloved.
This love is akin to the love that
feeds the hungry, gives drink to the thirsty, welcomes the stranger, visits the
sick, proclaims good news to the poor, liberates the captives, clothes the
naked, and sets the oppressed free!
This is the love that believes that
hope is greater than despair; that faith is stronger than fear; and that life
will always conquer death. This is the love that transforms the
world.
