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The Faith of Tech/5 Raleigh Edward Nayes—a Merrill’s Marauder—and the Faith of the Centurion Is Also Our Faith.
Raleigh Nayes is a Soldier.
He served our nation with honor and distinction in WWII, and most notably as a Merrill’s Marauder.
In fact, he received a long overdue award for this mission—the Congressional Gold Medal—the day before his death.
As we gather today, we come to give honor and praise to God for the blessings that he extended to Raleigh during his earthly life.
Among those blessings were his dedication to Betty—his wife—and to his children and grandchildren.
As I prepared for this service today, I gave thought to Raleigh’s military service.
Like any good Soldier, Raleigh knew what it was like to take orders as well as to give them.
He was dedicated to those above him.
And as I gave thought to these things, I was reminded of a story of another Soldier who had a conversation with our Lord Jesus Christ.
That episode is found in Mt 8:5–13.
Today I want to talk to you about a Soldiers faith, because
The Faith of Raleigh and the Faith of the Centurion Is Also Our Faith.
I. Faith realizes its unworthiness.
The Soldier in our text was a centurion.
A centurion was a Roman soldier in charge of a garrison of one hundred men.
Therefore, he knew how to give orders and how to take them.
We are told that he had a servant who was quite ill.
The centurion came to Jesus and asked him to heal his servant.
Jesus responded by saying, “I will come and heal him” (v 7).
It is the dialogue that follows that is so interesting.
“The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof’ ” (v 8).
We are not quite sure why the Centurion said that.
Perhaps he had a sense of moral guilt, or perhaps he realized that, according to Jewish law, Jesus would have defiled himself by entering his home.
Whatever the reason, he realized that the healing he sought was neither earned nor deserved.
In the same way, we, too, are not worthy of God’s grace and mercy.
He does not answer our prayers or receive us into his kingdom because we have achieved some great honor, attained some great rank, or completed a great task.
The hymn writer said it best when he wrote in the great hymn “Rock of Ages”: “Nothing in my hand I bring; Simply to Thy cross I cling” (LSB 761:3).
II.
Faith acknowledges the power and authority of Christ.
The centurion said, “Only say the word, and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.
And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (vv 8–9).
What the centurion recognizes is that Christ is a person who has authority, and not just any authority, but a divine authority, the authority of God himself.
Christ has the authority to forgive sins, to order and direct our lives in relationship with him.
His authority comes not just from his being God but by virtue of his victory in the battle against sin, death, and the devil.
Jesus Christ was the ultimate Merrill’s Marauder who fought in our place, died in our place, and rose again for our salvation.
He is Christus Victor, Christ the Victor!
We human beings often resist authority.
From the time we are very young, we want to establish our independence and control our own lives.
Often we resist God’s authority.
We fear that somehow we may lose our freedom.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
God desires to have authority, not to dictate over us, but to deliver us from things that would enslave us.
We carry many heavy burdens in the course of our life.
Many times we carry a burden of guilt over things we have said and done or a burden of grief because we did not say or do other things.
Today I proclaim to you the Easter Good News that the same Lord who brought healing to the Centurion’s servant, brings comfort and relief to us through His cross and empty tomb.
This is our assurance of Raleigh’s eternal life!
III.
Faith trusts the Word.
The Centurion said, “Only say the word” (v 8).
That’s faith.
That’s trust.
Our text tells us that Jesus was astonished at the man’s faith.
The faith that the Centurion exhibited is the faith that we are called to have as well.
Whether that faith involves daily needs or the last hour is of little importance.
We can trust the Word of God because of the authority that was given to Christ Jesus.
I wish I had an opportunity to know Raleigh before he was a resident at Chippewa Manor.
But what I do know is this, he loved his dear wife Betty.
They were charter members of this grand congregation.
Raleigh is baptized in the Christian faith, and though a humble and quiet man, he had faith in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
As a faithful Soldier, Raleigh understood concepts like, “Duty, Honor, Country,” and he epitomized this as a caring husband and father.
Today I mentioned that Raleigh was a Merrill’s Marauder, and I must admit that I didn’t really know much about them.
But after a bit of research into their history I came away stunned, and in awe over what almost 3,000 infantrymen volunteered to do.
These volunteers were considered expendable and not expected to survive their mission.
And what was their mission?
Disrupt Japanese supply lines and communication in Burma, and to capture a Japanese-held airfield.
They carried only what they could pack on their backs and mules.
They defeated the much larger and better equipped Japanese 18th division in five major battles and 30 minor engagements.
They walked farther than any WWII fighting force—almost 1,000 miles behind enemy lines—to complete their mission.
After battling not only the enemy for five-straight months, but also malaria, mite typhus, dysentery, monsoons, leeches and isolation, only about 200 were capable of combat when they reached the airfield.
As an aside, those 200 were known as “walking skeletons”.
One retired Master Sgt. was quoted to say:
“I fought in WWII, in Korea in the Pork chop Hill sector and two combat tours in Vietnam.
But the worse fighting I experienced was in Burma with Merrill’s Marauders.”
As Christians this Easter season is particularly meaningful because our Lord Jesus endured much to earn our salvation, and the battle against sin, death, and the devil.
Jesus Christ is the ultimate Merrill’s Marauder who fought in our place, was beaten and tortured beyond recognition, and then died in our place.
But He rose again for our salvation, walking out of the battlefield of death victorious.
Dear family, in our daily struggles, we can trust the Word of Christ.
This Jesus has not only delivered your father and grandfather from trials in the past—including on the battlefield—but Jesus will continue to keep you safe in times that lie ahead.
There is another reason for our coming together today.
While we give honor and praise to God for the blessings he extended to us through Raleigh during his earthly life, we also give thanks for the gift of life itself and the promise of eternal life.
As the centurion would say to his servant, “Come,” and he comes, so our heavenly Father said to Raleigh, “Come, and inherit the place I have prepared for you.”
And as a faithful soldier, Raleigh heard the order and departed this earthly life to be with his Lord and Savior—and his dear wife Betty—for all eternity.
For this great gift, we say, Thanks be to God.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
If you will indulge me, I want to say a few words about what you will witness when we arrive at the cemetery.
Those who know me know that I never do this, but but because it is your father and grandfather, it is important we understand what will take place.
At the cemetery the Chippewa Falls Patriotic Council and representatives from the U.S. Army Rangers will be present to render Military Honors.
By the way, the Marauders were redesignated into the 75th Infantry Regiment, which is the current-day 75th Ranger Regiment.
Military Honors
The rendering of military honors is a way to show the nation’s deep gratitude to those who served.
The symbolism of this ritual: rifle volleys, taps, and folding of the flag, is ingrained with gratitude that our Nation has for Corporal Raleigh Edward Nayes.
Three Rifle Volleys—what does it mean?
This tradition comes from traditional battle ceasefires where each side would clear their fallen.
The firing of three volleys indicated the fallen have been cleared and properly cared for.
Taps
24 of the most beautiful notes.
A melody both eloquent and haunting that elicits deep emotion when heard.
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