Photo By Spc. Ryan Stroud | Chaplain (Capt.) Jesus Perez, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat...... read more read more
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By Spc. Ryan Stroud
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
BAQUBAH, Iraq -- "I see this as a calling from God, to administer to the people, as people, as Soldiers who need to see a human face behind [our deployment]. That's what a chaplain does. We bring Soldiers to God and God to Soldiers," said Chaplain (Capt.) Jesus Perez, chaplain for 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
"I feel honor to get to serve [the Soldiers]," he continued. "I see this as a calling, not as a job. The day I see being a chaplain as a job, it's time for me to retire, it's time for me to hang up the gloves."
But what makes this chaplain so special is, to his knowledge, he is the only Messianic Jewish chaplain in the Army and, quite possibly, the whole U.S. military.
"As a chaplain, I believe I am the only Messianic Jew in that position," Perez said. "I don't know of any other [chaplains] in the armed forces who are Messianic Jew chaplains like I am."
Being the only Messianic Jew serving as a chaplain, it is a privilege to serve his brothers-in-arms while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Perez said.
"I feel honored," he said. "I feel honored by Hashim that he gives me the opportunity to be a voice within the community of believers, especially for the Messianic Jewish believers, which in my opinion, there are many [in the military]. That, for me, is a very big privilege.
"Messianic Judaism differs from Judaism in the sense that we believe Jesus, who we call Yeshua, is the messiah," he continued. "We differ from Christianity in the sense that there are traditions that we don't follow.
"We continue to follow the Jewish traditions, holidays and all the Jewish laws like kosher law," said Perez. "We try to follow more of the tradition Jewish setting rather than the Christian settings."
Perez was raised in two places that helped mold Perez's beliefs into what they are today.
"I was born in New York but grew up in Puerto Rico," said Perez. "That's where I have my Jewish roots, from New York, and my Messianic roots, from Puerto Rico.
"I grew up in a Jewish family," he continued. "My parents converted to Catholicism while I decided to go to the route of Messianic Judaism because I saw in Messianic Judaism, the opportunity of see the messiah in everything that we do as Jews."
But Perez didn't find a calling in the church just yet. For him, it started when he enlisted in to the U.S. Navy.
"Everything started when I joined the Navy," he said. "After I joined, I was tasked to be a religious specialist."
Perez still conducted his regular duties on top of his new duties as a religious specialist.
"Four years later, I switched over to the Army and became a [transportation specialist], but was also again assigned as a chaplain's assistant," Perez said.
"I kind of got the message there -- four years as a chaplain's assistant with the Navy, four years chaplain's assistant with the Army -- so I thought God was trying to say something," he said with a smile on his face. "So I switched again back to the Navy to be a chaplain candidate for a few years. Then I decided to go back to the Army as a chaplain in September of 2005."
Perez's duties as a chaplain are never-ending. He does everything from holding services, leading prayer breakfasts and speaking at Soldier's memorials.
"When we go [to a memorial service], its not about me being a Messianic Jew or [the Soldiers] being their own faith group, it's about being a Soldier," said Perez.
"I minister to them as Soldiers -- that's my job, that's my duty," he continued. "I honor the dead, wounded and taking care of my Soldiers, regardless to what battalion they belong to or what faith group they are.
"[After a memorial service], Soldiers say to me, 'I'm glad you're a chaplain,'" Perez said. "They see me as a chaplain, not as a Messianic Jew or a priest or anything like that. They see me as a chaplain and as their chaplain, regardless if they are from my battalion or another battalion.
"It makes me feel awesome; it makes me feel like I'm connecting," he said. "The Soldiers know I speak their language, being a chaplain's assistant before and also being a Soldier who was enlisted."
"Our jobs [as chaplains] are to protect the lives and souls of the Soldiers," he continued. "We represent peace, love and caring."
Perez got the chance to share his religious beliefs and customs during Passover, a sacred Jewish holiday which celebrates the freedom of the Israelites from ancient Egypt, by holding a Messianic Passover Seder with Soldiers from all units at FOB Warhorse, April 2 and 3.
Soldiers gathered into the chapel where Perez and his chaplain's assistant set up tables with the traditional Messianic Passover dishes to share. Perez was also invited to lead the Messianic Passover Seder at other surrounding FOBs.
"For Messianic Judaism, as well as Judaism, Passover is one of the most important [events]," Perez said. "For me, it was important for my Messianic brothers to have a place to go and celebrate, rejoice and come together and retell the story of how we were bonded in slavery in Egypt.
"You could see it in their faces to how happy they were," he said. "We laughed together, cried together and it was and awesome experience."
But the Seder was not only for the Messianic Jews stationed at the surrounding FOBs, Perez said it was for anyone who wanted to join in and worship God.
"For me, it was awesome," Perez said. "We had five Messianic Jews partaking in the service and the rest were from different religions. All of them came, not as Baptist or Presbyterian. The Passover Seder was a community of faith of people who came together to worship and to see God though it. People just being people in the presence of God, regardless of their faith tradition -- that's what made Passover so special.
"It pleased my heart so much," he said.
Perez did want to make sure those attending the Seder did not feel he was trying to convert them to his religion, rather let them experience God a different way and let them make their own decision.
"We believe that each person should to have the opportunity to receive a revelation to who Messiah is," Perez said. "I don't go out [trying to convert] Jews nor Christians to become what I am. I do what I do and let my life speak to them.
"We had a Jewish sister come to the Messianic Passover because she was curious," he said. "She said she was glad she participated because now she had questions and needed to do some research. I didn't [try to convert her,] we just talked about what we see in the Passover and let them do the research."
After the Seder was complete, Perez smiled and said he was happy he could share the experience with his brothers-in-arms and of his religion.
"If I only had one Messianic Jew in the Passover Seder, it would have been worth it, it would have been enough," he said. "The whole experience was perfect."
| Date Taken: | 04.13.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 04.13.2007 13:50 |
| Story ID: | 9896 |
| Location: | BAQUBAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 629 |
| Downloads: | 51 |
This work, Messianic Jewish Chaplain shares Passover Seder with Everyone, by SPC Ryan Stroud, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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