“Self-Sacrifice and Trust Walk Hand-in-Hand!”
Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time – B
“A man came home after the war with an empty coat sleeve. A tactless neighbor said: ‘I see you’ve lost your arm.’ The veteran answered sharply: ‘I didn’t loose it. I gave it!’”
This story coincides with both our first reading from Kings and the Gospel reading. All three show us what self-sacrifice is all about. Self-sacrifice, for us Christian people, is the way we live out the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ in our lives. Self-sacrifice is the way in which all of us are able to see and touch that which gives us the life we have – namely, that Jesus Christ sacrificed His life that we may have life!
What does it mean to sacrifice? We heard in our first reading how the poor widow gave all the flour and oil to make a “cake” for Elijah so he could be sustained on his journey. The widow gave all that her and the son had so that another could have life – “for we will die!” She didn’t think of herself first. She didn’t think herself better than Elijah. She simply trusted in the fact that “the Lord would not allow the jar of flour to go empty nor the jug of oil run dry.”
Sacrifice and Trust go hand in hand. When we offer ourselves in Ministry to the Church or in Love to another or our Lives for our Country, then we must TRUST that our Loving God will guide us in our endeavors and keep us from all harm.
To sacrifice ourselves, for whatever the reason, illustrates a deep love for whatever or whomever we are offering ourselves. We must give deeply from the heart and not count the cost or the effects in our lives.
The Widow contributed “all” that she had. Most of us would hang on to our little, hoping to survive until maybe our luck would change. But not this widow; she contributes her “entire livelihood.”
When I left for the Seminary, my parents had already died; my siblings had children of their own and responsibilities and could not help me financially. Yet I trusted that because I was sacrificing all the worldly possessions, that God would indeed take care of me.
It seemed as though every time I would run low on money or need a repair for my car or some other expense, a friend or benefactor would always be there. I never had to ask for money from anyone. It would just show up in the mail. I use to brag, and I still do, that God takes such good care of me. I don’t have to ask for anything, God just seems to provide for anything that I need! How fortunate I feel and I am!!
Placing ourselves at the center of worldly values – status, clothes, seats of honor, power, wealth – gains us condemnation, says Jesus. Surrendering ourselves, SACRIFICING ourselves as disciples at the service of the cross gains us salvation. But how easily we are fooled about where our hearts truly lay!
We might look at the widow’s giving all she had as a foreshadowing of Jesus giving his all on the cross. This is seeing the Paschal Mystery! When we give our all, we never run out. God is the one who is always there to provide. Trusting that when we give from our want, true self-sacrifice, God will give us all that we need is living out the Paschal Mystery. The Paschal Mystery reminds us that if we rely on ourselves and amass our own treasures, we will lose everything.
When we are free enough to offer ourselves in sacrifice for the good of our brothers and sisters in Christ, then we are truly living the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ.
Archbishop Kurtz has asked us all to contribute to the Catholic Services Appeal to benefit all people in the Archdiocese. For some this will be a greater sacrifice than for others.
There are always opportunities in which we live out the Paschal Mystery of Jesus; by offering ourselves for the good of others.
Carl Jung, the great Psychologist once said: “It is only through the mystery of self-sacrifice that a man may find himself anew.”
If we rely on ourselves and amass our own treasures, we will lose everything. If we surrender ourselves in loving self-sacrifice, we gain everything. The choice is ours!