Authentic sayings of Jesus are abundant. They are scattered throughout the Matthew, Mark and Luke gospels.

They are easy to spot. They are short, graphic and memorable. Going the second mile is one of those sayings that could be easily understood by those who listened to Jesus. It is a picture that is easily remembered. It is now thoroughly imbedded in our own language.

The second mile has deep roots. It probably dates all the way back to the Persian Empire in the sixth century B.C. The Persian Empire stretched from Greece in the west to India in the east. The Persians occupied vast territories of conquered nations, including Palestine. Their troops and provincial governors ruled with absolute power. What they asked was actually a command. Subjects had no choice. They obeyed. The next great empire in the region was the Greek empire built by Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C. The Greek empire included Palestine. The same kind of authority was exercised.

In Jesus’ day, the Roman Empire had become the greatest of all empires. The expanse of the Roman Empire was truly mind-boggling. It included the European continent, North Africa, Asia Minor, Palestine and territories east to the Euphrates River. Roman rulers claimed for themselves the role of rulers of what they considered the entire civilized world.

Tradition of the Persian and Greek empires carried over to the Romans. The commands of Roman troops and provincial governors were obeyed by subjects.

The Romans did something different. They built roads. These roads made movement of troops possible. The saying “all roads lead to Rome” was in fact the case. Roman troops traveled the roads constantly. The roads were well marked with mileposts. Roman soldiers carried heavy packs. A simple rule prevailed. A Roman soldier could ask anyone to carry his pack for a mile.

In one sense, carrying the pack of a Roman soldier was no big deal. The tradition was well established and few would have given any thought to refuse. For centuries the people of Palestine had conformed to the reasonable commands of their rulers.

And Jesus said, “If someone requires you to go with him one mile, go with him two.”

What was Jesus teaching? At times, Jesus clearly taught resistance to those in authority. This was not one of those cases. Jesus understood that there were just rules and unjust rules. Just rules were to be obeyed. Unjust rules were to be resisted. The request/command of a Roman soldier was not necessarily unkind, abusive or unreasonable. The Roman soldier was walking a long way and was tired. Carrying the pack of a Roman soldier could, in fact, be seen as an act of kindness that would be appreciated by the soldier.

Jesus said, “Go a second mile.”

As I reflect on the meaning of the second mile, I realize the importance of the second-miler to every society. I have spent the last 50 years as a minister in Baptist churches. I began thinking of all the people in churches that are second milers. They go far, far beyond anything reasonably expected of a church member. A church congregation could not exist without the second-miler.

Most clergy I know are second-milers. Ministers know little of eight-hour days or five-day work weeks. I’ve never heard of a minister being paid time and a half.

Every good teacher that I have known is a second-miler. Their work weeks are closer to 70 hours than to 40. No overtime pay. There is always one more child to help and one more parent to encourage.

How about the volunteers at the food pantry, the senior center, Bishop’s Attic, Salvation Army, Girl Scouts and Little League baseball? I could go on. All of the good volunteers who make a community are second-milers. We could not function as a society without them.

I knew Hal Taussig only a little when I was a student at Wheaton College. Hal was well known because he was probably the finest wrestler in the history of the college. Hal became a businessman and for many years has operated a very successful travel company. He became disillusioned with the pursuit of wealth. Standard of living and quality of life are not the same.

Now in his early 80s, Hal and his wife live on Social Security. All profits from his business and any money left in his checking account at the end of the month go into a foundation that makes low-interest loans to people who are poor risks. He has given many millions to the foundation. He rides a bicycle three miles round-trip every day from his modest, paid-for home to his business.

I could tell you more about Hal, but for now I’ll just say that Hal is a second-miler.

The Rev. Howard Bess is pastor of Church of the Covenant, an American Baptist church in Palmer. His e-mail address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.