It must have been beyond difficult, to say the least, for our Heavenly Father to sacrifice His only begotten son for mankind. His love for us is unbelievable and impossible for us to understand. All the suffering that Jesus endured was offered up for the salvation of us sinners…a pure and loving sacrifice. His desire was for us to love Him and each other and then spend eternity with Him. Do you ever think about what spending eternity with Him would be like? I do! Loving Him and each other sounds so simple. Imagine how our world would be if we only obeyed His first two commandments. All it takes is to follow through with all the love we can give Him and each other. It seems so straightforward, yet so very difficult for us to achieve. In today's world, it looks like many of us think only about ourselves and not much of others. The more "material things we obtain, the happier we'll be" is today’s motto. I believe Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta had a better motto... "Live simply so that others may simply live." Sacrifice for the sake of others!
The gospel in today's reading talks about apostles James and John hoping to "climb the ladder" to be at Jesus' side in heaven. Jesus explains to them that it is not His decision to grant and that they cannot fully comprehend what they are asking for. He points out that being in authoritative positions is not what He asks of them. He wishes for them to follow His example in serving others and not being served themselves. Mark’s gospel, chapter 10, verse 45, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” What a sacrifice, indeed!