Under Authority

“ And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me”

In the year 1970, I was a hippy in Berkeley. Hard to imagine, isn't it? Hair down my back, lamb chop sideburns, mustache, bell bottom jeans and cowboy boots. That was me. I was riding a cultural tide that dreamed of another kind of society, another kind of world. Some called for a revolution. Others just said “Turn on, tune in, and drop out.” Some really weren't able to talk much at all. We looked for all the world like movie extras out of a bad western, side kicks to an outlaw wanted dead or alive . This sort of threatened the law enforcement community.

What brought the police down on us in greatest numbers were the protests. We protested the war in Vietnam. At least I did. It was odd to go to a rally against the war. We would hear an announcement of some national antiwar leader to speak at Sproul Plaza at 4 pm, and thousands would be standing there waiting. By 5 pm we had heard from Cesar Chavez about boycotting lettuce, the Black Panthers about blacks fighting back, the Gay and Lesbian Liberation Front, and a number of other representatives from a wide assortment of causes. But nobody against the war yet. At about 5:30 the speaker we had come to hear finally approached the microphone, but I was already thinking that this was something more than an antiwar demonstration. We were being programmed to support many causes.

I've been exposed to tear gas more often than any officer or soldier I know. You didn't have to do anything wrong in Berkeley to get a snifter full of CS gas, just be young and somewhere in town. At one point, the National Guard took over the city and set up bivouacs at every street corner, complete with rifle teepees and concertina wire. Walking to school meant walking around barricades. Coming home meant being watched from the air by helicopters. It was pretty weird . The media never covered the events accurately. I therefore had to be there when something was going down, just to know for myself what happened. Many urban legends and wild exaggerations became the folklore of our day, however. Like smoking banana peel.

I have grown up somewhat since then. Today, a priest in a conservative church, I also serve the Chico Police department as the president of its chaplain's corp. Law enforcement has changed a lot since I met the “ blue meanies ,” the Alameda County Riot Squad , in Berkeley. But one thing hasn't changed. Our society is in a crisis of authority . The revolution did take place, only not by guns or bombs. The four kids killed at Kent State, and James Rector, killed during the People's Park episode in Berkeley, were the only casualties of war that I remember. What else died is memorialized in the music of the day. Born to be Wild, The Ballad of Bobby McGee, White Rabbit , and the obviously fictitious Warm San Francisco Nights , plus a thousand more hit songs played a great part in defining deviancy down, in making a new society no longer built on commitment, personal responsibility and respect for civil law, one's parents, the Christian religion, or national identity. We had no idea what we were doing to ourselves or to anyone else. The riot squads were right . We were dangerous.

The first thing to suffer such a revolution is the Truth . When the smoke in my own eyes had fully cleared, I remember having a discussion with my brother-in-law on a camping trip. He was still enamored with the relativism of new age philosophy and was reading passages to us from a book. I told him that there is only one Truth, capital T: that in heaven, when we are all brought before that Truth, whatever it is, we will all know where we've been wrong and what was right. He got very mad at me, and denied there being such an ultimate reality. That reminds me of myself, years earlier, saying that everything is true, but some truths run deeper than others. When truth is no longer absolutely true, you are answerable to no one and to nothing. What's wrong for some other people may not be wrong for me. I am the only judge of what I do. Someday everything I've done will be shown to be just what I needed to do and there will be no right or wrong, no Truth I need to answer to . This was the underlying message of my generation's revolution, and the fact that most college students today live by such a code— if that's the right term for it —means that the revolution did take place. We are therefore in a crisis of truth and authority.

For my part, I am sorry for it. My generation managed to kill or seriously injure the sanctity of marriage “til death us do part,” the value of unborn life , respect for men in uniform , the roles of husband/father and wife/mother in raising up children , the work ethic , and the moral certainty and dignity of the Church . It's my generation that sits as bishops deciding how many ways God was once wrong about things.

Today it doesn't take a war to find young people battling police. Just a Thursday night beer kegger party, 500 drunk or drugged young people overrunning a house, earsplitting noise from a DJ's speaker system, and a complaint from a neighbor. Bottles fly over the heads of partygoers as the police run for their helmets and shields. Having a party is reason enough to kill a cop. For my part in this revolution, I'm more than sorry. I'm mortified.

I have learned a lot about Truth and Authority since 1979, the year I reentered the Church and sanity. I have been slow to cure of my failings, but bit-by-bit I am becoming the kind of man my dog thinks I am. Only I don't have a dog. The most astounding realization came to me about this, however, in finally understanding the centurion who sought a healing from Jesus for his servant.

Jesus entered Capernaum, where a centurion asked for a healing for his servant at home, sick from palsy. Jesus agreed to go, but the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” Then he said something remarkable: “For I am a man under authority.” He explained how his orders were carried out by his soldiers. Jesus marveled and said, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” He then agreed to heal the man's servant with a word.

What did Jesus find so remarkable in the centurion that brought such high praise? The centurion only had to give a word to someone below him in rank and he knew it would be done. He didn't have to follow anyone around, reminding them, making sure his orders were carried out. It just happened. He knew Jesus' order or prayer for his servant's healing would happen, without Jesus having to go to the bedside. This was faith in Jesus' remarkable healing ability. But what did he say? “I am a man under authority.” Not a man with authority, but under . How was it that this centurion knew his soldiers would obey? He was the master of a hundred, but he was the obedient soldier to some man of higher rank, a general who served under the governor, who in turn served under the Emperor. It wasn't his own inherent power that gave the centurion authority with his men; it was the real power that existed above him. As long as he was carrying out his superior's orders, his own men knew they should fear and obey him . Authority flows down from the top. Someone disobeying the authority above him should not expect anyone to follow him below.

The Roman knew that Jesus was under authority too. He understood that everything Jesus did was perfectly carrying out his Father's will . He clearly saw that every healing done by Christ was enacted by the will of the Father through the Son, and perfected by the Holy Ghost— at least he saw the familiar chain of command, even if he lacked knowledge of the theological names . The centurion regarded Jesus as someone like himself. His orders were carried out; therefore, He must be in a pretty powerful army. Jesus only said, “I have not found such great faith in all of Israel.”

When we act under the authorities that are set above us, things go peacefully with us. We don't get arrested, stand before judges, pay high fines, or serve in prison. But more than that, we have authority given to us and exercise it without contradiction. Others answer to us and have us make decisions for them. We can make rules and see them followed. But only if we remain under authority.

The Kingdom of Heaven is a kingdom , not a democracy . We the people are subjects of a king, King Jesus, as all the representatives of the Continental Congress of American Revolutionary times believed. King George held no candle to the Lord of Life. Democracy is only possible for people who are personally governed by God. Only then are the people sovereign. Failing that, we the people are only a gang of rabble, a mob, and no one is required to follow us.

Jesus added something wonderful to His Kingdom, however. The ruler bends down to raise His subjects higher. He serves those He rules . It must be so with us. “Husbands love your wives as Christ loves the Church,” is a prescription for a happy marriage, built on making every bride a fulfilled, happy, fruitful person. Christ didn't retain all authority to Himself either. He bestowed power to His apostles and disciples over devils and diseases . Luke 9:1 He gave us power to become the sons of God. John 1:12 He gave power to forgive and retain sin . John 20:23. This authority flows from Jesus. The Father gives authority to the Son, the Father and Son to the Holy Spirit, and on to us. Authority exists in order for us to serve others, not ourselves . It keeps homes happily in order. It keeps companies and jobs prosperous. It keeps Churches serving the Truth, capital T, who is, after all, a Person. For He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6 He said: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. ” Matthew 28:18-20

In this authority, Jesus healed the servant of the centurion. In this same authority, He took the sins of the whole world upon Himself at the Cross. In this authority He taught in the Temple, multiplied bread and fish, raised Lazarus from the grave, and resurrected Himself from the tomb of Joseph from Arimathea.

“For there is no power but of God… Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God… for he beareth not the sword in vain. Render tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” Romans 13:7

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