Acts 10:1-2 - At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.

This devotion pairs with this weekend's Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at LHM.org.

It is astonishing that we are told this centurion's name. And that he's spoken of so highly. To grasp the astonishment, we might try a thought experiment: imagine there was a nuclear war years ago. Many fought and died for their countries, but most were bombed back into the Stone Age. Out of the rubble, Communist China arose as the world power. China invaded and occupied the United States, Canada, Mexico, and colonized them, and stationed several million soldiers on the continent to keep peace.

And then comes along Jesus, our Messiah. He comes among us. He interacts with these soldiers, but He never tells them that they must stop being soldiers before they can be forgiven and learn to follow Him.

That's what it was like between Jews and Romans. And as far as we know, when Cornelius, the soldier mentioned in Acts 10, the soldier of an oppressive, foreign empire, when he is filled with the Holy Spirit and baptized in the Name of Jesus and forgiven all his sins, none of the followers of Jesus told him that he must stop being a soldier. Although, they certainly would have taught him how to be a different kind of soldier, as John the Baptist taught the soldiers when they came to him to be baptized (see Luke 3:14). And maybe it makes us wonder how—how could these Messianic Jews be so welcoming to a newly baptized Roman soldier and his family? It's because they had been caught up together in a new ultimate, in Jesus.

And that meant everything else was set free to be penultimate. Something penultimate can be important, just not most important. Penultimate is a step back from the ultimate. It's like how certain gifts are penultimate to the giver of the gift. An engagement ring, for example, is penultimate to the marriage. Or, in the sporting world, the tail gate is penultimate to the kickoff, and the regular season is penultimate to the playoffs. There are also penultimate moments in a story. In a story of a rescue at sea, getting the survivors into life rafts is a step better than drowning at sea, but it is penultimate to getting them home again. The Bible teaches that ultimacy belongs only to Jesus because He is the Son of God become human, because He sacrificed His life to save us, because He rose from the dead to set us free from false ultimates, because He loves us. But He doesn't have us separate ourselves from the world. Instead, He gives the whole creation back as a penultimate gift to cherish and a place to serve.

As followers of Jesus, we can participate in this upcoming weekend's holiday, Memorial Day, appreciating it as penultimate. Perhaps we can participate in it better because we don't have to try to prove that our sacrifices are ultimate, because Jesus' was and is. So, we can just serve and be grateful for those who've served before us, with nothing to prove, but plenty to do, knowing that what we do isn't ultimate, but by God's grace, can be a step better than drowning, and maybe even good.

WE PRAY: Dear Father, thank You for all Your gifts. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker for The Lutheran Hour.

Reflection Questions:

1. Is there a person, goal, or accomplishment that you're tempted to make into a "false ultimate"?

2. How would you respond if that thing or idea or person were taken from you?

3. What helps you receive all good things from God as gifts to cherish and opportunities to serve?

Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 12-14    John 8:28-59

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