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For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
-Mark 10:45
In the corner of the Upper Room in Jerusalem, where tradition holds that Jesus shared his last meal, you’ll find a narrow pillar carved in stone. Curiously, a pelican is carved into it. My tour guide in the Holy Land explained that it was an early Christian symbol, which I’ve seen several times since. Pelican mothers are incredible. It turns out that when they can’t find enough food to fill their large expanding bills and return to feed their young, they’ll use that bill to beat the side of their body, wounding themselves, causing internal hemorrhaging. The mother can then regurgitate her own life-sustaining fluids to feed her young, sacrificing herself to keep her children alive.
We are in the midst of both a secular and spiritual season of sacrifice. We just celebrated Mother’s Day and both Father’s Day and Memorial Day are ahead. We are also between Easter Sunday and Pentecost, the period of time Jesus appeared to his disciples after his sacrificial death on the cross, when God gave us God’s one and only son, and before Jesus ascended. In fact, each Sunday is named for its distance from Easter, until Pentecost Sunday (for instance, the Sunday after Easter is the Second Sunday of Easter). During this time, the world and the Church recognize and reflect on the sacrifices of parents, soldiers, and our savior. No healthy relationship is without sacrifice, but those of parents to their children, soldiers to their country, and Christ to God’s created ones is one whose purpose is ongoing sacrifice, like the mother pelican.
This week, as you reflect on your relationships to mothers, fathers, and soldiers, I encourage you to reflect on Christ as feeling that same love and dedication to service to the point of self-sacrifice and the purpose of our salvation. When we follow Christ, we are called to make sacrifices. Some are small and some are big. Small ones like the way we speak to others and our speed to react and lash out, to make others into enemies, or that we fail to show courtesy, to check on others, or see them as our brothers and sisters. And in large ways, like choosing to set aside our time every week for worship, even when our schedules and commitments seek to crowd God out of our Sundays and week days and our very thoughts and prayer lives. As summer approaches, and we start it with a long week on Memorial Day, join me in committing to discipleship that embraces sacrifice and don’t take a summer vacation from worship or bringing your own children to God’s house. See you there.
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