Milford chronicle., 1907-03-22

have come from one Of the purest and
the most refined homes Of all rural
Italy. Then, by the student life OF
Iecentlous Rome. we see his moral and
spiritual life completely wrecked. In
this faroR Roman province OF Judaea
he is earnestly and prayerfully trying
10 the Roman army to make man out
OF himself.
Again the scene changes. 1t is now
about the year 80 A. d. This Is the
time when all the Jewish world is per
picked and in doubt about a Nazarene
named Jesus. We are now in the RO-
man barracks Of Jerusalem. This Is
the officers quarters. Before us sits
the well developed figure Of an officer
about thirty eight years Of age. This
is the former youth Of whom we have
been speaking, now broad shouldered
Roman centurion. He turns to one Of
his brother officers and asks: 'Tiberius,
why are they making such fuss about
this man Jesus? Who is he? Is he a
thief or an insurrectlonistf Has he
murdered anybody? Why does old
CaIaphas, the high priest, hate him sol
Tell me something about him" Then
/ think ! see Tiberlus turn and sharply
look about him. begin to surmise
that this Tiberius IS a Christian. Per
haps he was the Roman centurion who
was once stationed in Capernaum,
about whom Matthew wrote, who had
a beloved servant dying from an ap-
parently incurable disease. This serv-
ant Christ healed. You know the story.
Then think l hear that Christian cen
turIon tell Julius, his brother officer,
all about this Jesus. Julius" says he,
'Christ never did any one any harm.
All he does is to heal the sick and open
the eyes of the blind and brush away
the lepers' scales. Yes. Julius, his mis-
sion is to heal the broken bodies and
to C c.eanse US from all sin"
Captain Julius Ponders.
Methinks l can see Captain Julius
sitting there in the Roman barracks
His head is resting on his hand. Theu
I hear him say: "Oh, is Jesus all that
Is his mission only to help the poor
and the sick and the suffering? Is his
mission to cleanse sinful men from an
evil past? How my dear mother woulC
have loved himl How tame are the
penates-the household gods of my ole
Roman home! Truly, father and moth
er to the best of their spiritual light
made our old homestead virtuous and
pure. But, oh what would mother
have been able to do had she had this
Christ for her SaviourY Then me
thinks l see the centurion anxiously
look into Tiberius' face and say: cap
tain Tiberius. do you believe that this
Jesus will forgive me, even me? why
nv mother died of a broken heart oil
account Of the waywardness and vile
ness of my youth. Will this Jesus for
give me. even me?" Then l think
see Captain Tiberius place his han(
upon julius shoulder and say: Yes
Julius. This Christ can be your Christ
for in my own hearing, after Jesus
raised my sick servant, heard hin
say to a great crowd Of people wh'
were flocking about him near Lak'
Galilee. All that the Father giveth m'
shall come to me, and him that cometl
to me I will in nowise cast out "
another Picture.
OF course in one sense this sermon i
entirely imaginative. And yet thinl
there may be more truth in it thai
many Of us believe. AS I began it II
an imaginative way, so will end II
the same way. When 1 think Of thi
Roman centurion, I never picture hin
as simply acknowledging Christ as tn
Son of God and then going back to hi
life of sin. l picture him as resignini
from the Roman army and returning
to the Roman capital. Then pictur
him as one Of the Christians Of olt
Rome to whom Paul later wrote. Thel
I picture him as going out to the ok
homestead, to the pure home OF hi
youth, and telling his brothers ant
sisters about his new found Christ
Then I picture the prosecutions com
ing. Then I imagine him an old man
bending under the weight of seventy
five years. but strong in faith and il
fidelity to Christ. He may have beel
among "the saints in Caesars house
hold" of whom Paul writes He ma.