From the very beginning of God's relationship with humanity there was an emphasis on sacrifice. It seems intuitive and sacrifice is integral to worship. Today in our Gospel reading Jesus takes us a step further in understanding sacrifice as disciples.

For the christian, for the disciple, sacrifice is essential. The sacrifice of the disciple is not the bloody offerings of the Old Testament. It is not the sacrifice that rends our livestock, but the sacrifice that rends our hearts and burns away our complacency. The sacrifice of a disciple is one that recognizes the lordship of Jesus over and above our wants and pleasures and our concerns for approval. It is the sacrifice that loses one's life in order to gain it.

 

For we know all things handed it over to God become greater than they were before. It is the sacrifice that is pleasing to God not because of the fragrance of the smoke or the esteem of the animal, but because of the faithfulness, sincerity, generosity, and love that goes into the sacrificial action. That is the sacrificial behavior Jesus model for us in his self-sacrificial offering on the cross.

 

It's the sacrificial life we are being called to live in following Jesus today in the Gospel.

 

- Spencer Hargadon