Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him. When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: “He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.” 

“We’ve seen our share of ups and downs,” the group Creed sings in their song "My Sacrifice." "Oh how quickly life can turn around in an instant. It feels so good to reunite. Within yourself and within your mind, let’s find peace there. When you are with me, I’m free, I’m careless." But she’s no longer with the person in the song, and he has made some type of sacrifice in giving her up, and it sounds as though he did not want it to happen. "I just want to say hello again," they sing the thoughts of the man. 

What is sacrifice of self? Does it necessarily mean some type of violence and actual martyrdom. Does it mean a monumental gift that could never be repaid? Admittedly, such actions are sacrifices, but when one speaks of day-to-day living, and especially the process of developing love and future love relationships that imply a permanent commitment, it would seem that sacrifice might be defined with smaller components. But the sacrifice is just as real, and the idea of a sacrifice remains the same—one gives up something for something else.
 
In Creed’s song, “My Sacrifice,” the man in the relationship has given up what the couple had. They meet again, and he remembers what he has given up. Listening to the song, one is not sure whether the sacrifice was to give the other person in the relationship the freedom she needed, but one hears the pain that it has caused him. He was able to forget himself for an instant, and give to her the opportunity of another love. Whether he wanted to or not, he sacrificed himself, and gave to her.
 
Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice was the giving of himself to us to redeem our sins, to give us the chance of eternal life, but there were many sacrifices of smaller components in his life. The way he healed others and made them feel better, no matter how he felt, was a way of sacrificing himself on behalf of others. He truly loved the people that he healed. He truly sacrificed for them.

The make-up of our sacrifices involves the smaller components of life. They may indeed consist of giving another the freedom to love someone else, as is the case with Creed’s song, but there are other sacrifices that we are called to make if we are to be better people. Our sacrifices will involve caring for others, helping others, healing others, as much as we are able. They make us realize that we can make an impact on behalf of other people, but we may have to give up some of ourselves in the process.                      

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son gave us the example of the sacrifice of himself for others. He did it in a supreme way at the end of his life, but he did it in smaller ways throughout his public ministry as well. Give us the grace to learn to sacrifice ourselves for others. Be with us, we pray.

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©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America