It
is not unheard of for one person to die for another. To sacrifice one’s life for another, or to
die in place of another. We see this
theme occasionally in books and in movies, and in real life.
We’ve
all heard stories of bravery - medals awarded posthumously to soldiers who’ve
thrown themselves on live grenades to save their squads.
The
film Saving Private Ryan tells the fictional story of a squad of eight soldiers
sent behind enemy lines to save the life of one soldier, the only one of four
brothers to survive the Normandy invasion.
A story in which seven of those eight give their lives.
Casablanca
is the most popular film of all time, in no small part because Rick Blaine
sacrifices not his life but his freedom to set free his lost love, Ilsa Laszlo
and her husband Victor.
In
real life we know the story of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, Italian Pediatrician
and mother, who in 1961 refused both abortion and hysterectomy and sacrificed
her own life so that her unborn daughter might be born.
And
of course we know the story of the Polish priest Raymund Kolbe, given the name
Maximilian Maria when he professed vows as a Franciscan, now known to the world
as Saint Maximilian Kolbe. Best
remembered for his selfless act at Auschwitz, volunteering to submit to
execution, to martyrdom, to save the life of a young husband and father, Franciszek Gajowniczek, who’d been condemned to death.
For whom Maximilian asked to die in his place.
Yes, it is not unheard of for one person to die for
another. For a good person, St. Paul
writes, one might even have the courage to die.
But what was unheard of, until this Good Friday, was for
the God who made the universe to die for a person.
The God who made the stars, conceived of the Virgin Mary
by the power of the Holy Spirit, also, coincidentally, on this day, which in
any other year we celebrate as the Feast of the Annunciation. To take on human flesh, human nature, and
submit Himself to the most horrific, painful, and humiliating death possible.
And why? For
you. For me.
Because of our sins, our offenses before our all-holy
God, you and I were sentenced to death, eternally separated from God. But Christ, the Son, the spotless Lamb, out
of His unfathomable love for us, gave Himself up in obedience for us, for you
and me, to restore us to grace, to set us free from the power, the slavery, of
sin.
For our offenses He was pierced, the prophet Isaiah
proclaims. Our infirmities He bore. Our sufferings He endured. He died in my place. And yours.
And when that sinks in, deep down in our hearts, how do
we feel about that, what is our thinking, what is our response? When we realize in our marrow that He has
died in our place?
What were the thoughts and feelings of Franciszek
Gajowniczek, during the 54 years he lived after Father Kolbe took his place? What are the thoughts and feelings of St.
Gianna Molla’s daughter, still alive today, some 54 years later?
Unworthiness, perhaps?
Certainly gratitude, sincere humble gratitude.
How much greater the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which purchased for us not 54 years more of life, but eternal life?
We should feel gratitude to be sure, and a profound sense of obligation. An obligation to live in a way that makes
that sacrifice to have been “worth it.”
To not have been in vain.
Abraham Lincoln, speaking at the dedication of the
national cemetery in Gettysburg about the thousands who had just died there,
vowed to “take increased devotion to that cause for which they
gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these
dead shall not have died in vain.”
At the end of Saving Private Ryan, Captain Miller, the
leader of the squad that had found and rescued Private Ryan, lay dying. His last words to the young private? “Earn this.”
Sisters and brothers, now make no mistake, there is
nothing we can ever do to “earn” the salvation Our Blessed Lord won for us, the
supreme sacrifice He made this day hanging on the cross. But what we can do is this.
We can give our lives back to Him, totally and
completely, in gratitude for the supreme sacrifice He made for us this
day. That’s all He asks. That we give ourselves totally to Him. That we who have been set free from the
slavery of sin, and for whom He won our eternal salvation, cooperate in our
salvation, living our lives in a way that gives glory only to Him and to His
Father. And that by our lives we may
lead others to know Him, love Him and serve Him.
Brothers and sisters, in
a moment we will come forward to embrace and kiss the holy cross. As we revere that sacred wood, on which He
gave Himself up for each of us, let us resolve anew, in great love and humble
gratitude, to give our lives to Him.
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