Growing up, I think one of the most common phrases I heard from my Dad was ‘Son you ought to be in the military’.

I’m not sure exactly why he said that but for some reason he always said it after he would look in my room and see my decorations of wet towels and socks on the floor and a bed that had never been made.

He even said those philosophical words to my brother after looking into his room.

I don’t know why he said that, my brother and I didn’t, at least to my knowledge, show any quality that would catapult us to the top of the military ranks and make us General or something like that.

We didn’t sew any patches or cereal box tops to our sleeves, and my brother and I sure didn’t salute each other in the morning, but for some reason, my Dad thought we belonged in the military.

Ironically, as the years went by life in the armed services always intrigued me and I always looked up to the soldiers, sailors, and air men who serve our country.

My favorite movies were all blockbuster military movies; Top Gun, An Officer and a Gentleman, and A Few Good Men.

I talked to recruiters and filled out applications to the Citadel and West Point, put my mom hid them.

And after all the exposure and suggestions that I should be in the military, I came pretty close to living the life of G.I. Joe.

The summer after I finished high school, I went on a vacation with a friend to Beaufort, SC to spend a nice week at the beach.

And while we were in Beaufort, we saw all the historic places to see and made all the typical tourist stops and we made one stop to Parris Island near Beaufort.

Parris Island is home to the Eastern United States Marine Corps Recruiting Depot. Every enlisted Marine this side of the Mississippi River comes to that little island near Beaufort to become a Marine, the rest go to San Diego.

I had heard so much about this island, about how hard it was to live there as a recruit, I had read about it in magazines and in movies, it had such a mystique, that I just had to go.

Parris Island was unbelievable! My friend and I first went to the Marine Corps museum and looked at all the artifacts and pictures of the Marine Corps throughout the years.

Stories from many different wars were told in the quiet halls of the museum; and it filled me so full of patriotism and pride that it made me want to join up right then and being training at Parris Island.

And then I went outside.

Once I walked out of the modern, air conditioned museum with water fountains and snack machines, I stepped out into the July heat of the coast of South Carolina.

While I was sweating in my tennis shoes and cotton shorts, there were

Marine recruits dressed in fatigues and wearing combat boots that were running and marching everywhere; and you could hear the cadences as they marched and ran.

The Drill Instructors were yelling and giving orders, making sure that the recruits were doing everything the Marine way.

And as I was taking all of this in I had a startling revelation.

I was standing there in Parris Island, South Carolina at the Marine recruiting depot for the Eastern United States, with people running in the ninety degree weather doing crazy things with men and women made of steel barking out commands,

and I realized that the men and women were the same age I was, 18 years old, a high school graduate, they were just like me.

And for some reason I began to feel the eyes of the drill instructors find their way to me, I looked down and saw that I stuck out like a sore thumb, and I was worried that I might be mistaken for a new recruit.

I began to panic. I started to look for the car or the woods or the ocean; anywhere I could go to hide from the reality of the preparation that these fine men and women were going through to defend our country.

I knew that I wouldn’t last ten minutes.

But I am so glad that they could.

I’m so glad the United States Marines and the other branches of the armed forces spend so much time and put so much effort in their training.

I’m glad the first ten weeks of a marine recruit’s life are spent in intense training; learning how to correctly operate their weapon, how to survive, how to take care of themselves and others in battle.

I’m glad that the officers and drill instructors are so adamant about preparing and teaching the recruits, because when they leave the base and have to go off somewhere; they know what to do.

They’ve been preparing for so long and they’ve been instructed so well, that when the time comes, they instinctively take what they’ve learned at the base and preserve our freedom.

We all are in debt to those brave individuals.

But looking back to what my father told me years ago, that I ought to go in to the military, I find a wisdom that even he didn’t realize at that time.

His motivation for me going in the military, although it was in jest, was for me gain some discipline and appreciate a well-made bed and neat clothes.

But there is a spiritual insight in those words.

Many of us, if not most of us, have a job that we have certain hours and a certain task to do everyday. When the end of the day comes and it’s time to go home, the vast majority of us leave the job and the task at our place of work. We leave everything on our desk knowing it will be there when we return the following day.

The same is sometimes true of those who go to school. Reading and writing while in class, under the instruction of teachers or professors, but once the bell rings and school is out, the education and knowledge does not leave with the students but stays in the halls and classrooms.

We often do this at work and at school and we also do this in church as well, leaving everything we’ve learned at the church, keeping it safe in the pews and hymn books and Bibles until next Sunday.

Maybe we should go in the military.

Our scripture lesson this morning in the Gospel of St. Mark, picks up where we left off last week.

Jesus was leaving the synagogue after the miraculous healing of the demon possessed man from Capernaum. As he was leaving, he heard that Saint Peter’s mother in law was ill with a terrible fever;

So Jesus went to her house.

When he entered the house, he went to her and touched her, and she was healed.

This may seem like another healing story that we hear and read so much about in the Gospels, and it is.

It’s a beautiful story of the compassion and power of Christ but it also tells something else.

It tells us that we should be in the military!

We should take the principals that the Marines at Parris Island and the rest of the armed forces use, and apply to our lives.

Jesus didn’t leave the wonderful experience that occurred on the Sabbath in the synagogue, but he took it to the home of St. Peter’s mother-in-law.

He didn’t leave it in the synagogue but took it to the world, he took the healing that occurred in during worship and spread it among all who needed it.

In that one act he set out a decree for all of us to follow.

He set the example for us not to leave all that we hear, read, and discover at church in the walls of the sanctuary, but to take it out to the world, to our homes, to our communities, to our work, and spread the good news that we already know.

Just as the Marines from Parris Island use everything they’ve learned their officers and at the base, when they go out into battle; we too are called to use everything that we have gained from church when we leave the sanctuary.

The Marines know how to handle their weapon because they’ve been trained to. Their weapon becomes a part of them, so when the time comes to use it, they are ready.

Jesus calls us to love. To train our sights on everyone and pierce them with compassion. Whether they are a member of our family or our enemy, we are called to love,

Not it just words and treaties, but in action and deed.

When we take what we’ve learned about love, what Jesus has told us, love will become a part of us.

The Marines train to take care of one another. They go through exercise and exercise to prepare them in case they have to carry or take care of a friend in battle.

We have been called to carry and take care of our friends in their spiritual battle once we leave the hallowed walls of the church. To help them take the steps, to help them find rest, to lead them to safety.

The Marines know how to fight. They have been instructed since day one in how to fight the enemy. And they have been impeccable in the battle field because of their training.

We too are taught how to fight, we are taught how to fight the temptations that hit us from every side every day. We are taught how to fight the enemy. But we must use what we’ve been taught and not leave those valuable tools safe in our churches only to bring them out each Sunday, but we must use them constantly.

And finally, the Marines know how to rely on the wisdom and instruction of their superior officers. They depend and hang on the instruction and order of their commander.

Whenever they have a problem or foresee and problem, they are taught to seek their commanding officer.

We too are taught to rely on the wisdom and instruction of God, but too many times we only do this on Sunday mornings. Too many times once we leave the church and have a problem or foresee a problem, we forget who is in charge and who can help, and we are left standing alone.

Jesus took the gospel that was proclaimed in the synagogue out into the world.

He knew that the Good News of God’s love should not be confined to the Rabbis and priests but should be given freely in the fields and markets, in the homes, and businesses, that it should live in the hearts of all men.

Maybe we should go in the military. We should take the principals that they have used so well and apply to our lives.

We must take what we discover in worship, and bring to all.

Healing will come to all who hear it, and to all who proclaim it.

There is no battle field, there is not any war that we can’t win, when we put our training into action.

In the name of the Father,

And of the Son,

And of the Holy Spirit, Amen.