It was Mohandas Gandhi who wrote that there is no religion without sacrifice. He saw the core of all religious belief as Truth. Truth is a universal ideal as well as the Truth of daily life. Sacrifice is the idea that we surrender something dear to us. Sacrifice is when we give away something precious to us. We give the best we have to show our pure intentions.

A great example of this is the story of Abraham in Genesis 22:1-19. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. In obedience to God’s request, Abraham was willing to follow through on this act. However, God was testing Abraham and sent an angel with a ram for the sacrifice. It is a simple story, but it shows God’s mercy and Abraham’s obedience. Isaac was his most precious possession, his son. Issac was the most beloved person in his life. Sacrifice works in that way. It is something dear to us, and we are willing to offer it without strings attached.

The call to sacrifice happens in our lives daily. We willingly give up our time, sleep, and safety to help others. It can be a mother attending to a small child at night. She willingly gives up her rest to care for the child. It could be a teacher who is delayed after class with a student who needs help. A bystander who witnesses an auto accident rushes to help. A soldier who pulls a buddy out of harm’s way at the cost of being shot himself. Sacrifice is giving something very dear to us, freely and without the thought of reward. In sacrificing, we serve the abstract ability to care for others. We live the Truth of ourselves. In serving others. We see the depth of our ability to give. It also shows the human being the abstract ideas that make our character. We are willing to sacrifice our own needs and wants to help others. Sacrifice can ask us to give, not just out of our abundance but our heart and soul. The gift we come to give truly is to ourselves. We do not realize that often, we hesitate, thinking it will take something from us. Just the opposite is true.

In my work in Hospice, I am often called to a patient who is actively dying. It may be just before dinner time or a baby shower I was to attend that evening. It may be a snowstorm raging outside. But the family has called me and lives many miles away. I must put what I wanted on hold or not look at the inconvenience it is causing. I try to accommodate the family at that extraordinary moment. I am just an ordinary person, but I try to witness the love I have been given as a human being. The generosity that the spirit has given me. To tell them God is with them, and although this is an extraordinary moment, it is filled with meaning and, yes, even peace. I have never assisted the dying and have not been given a reward of grace or a deeper understanding of life. Sacrificing is opening up ourselves to others and our community. We become sensitive to those around us and see our lives in so many connections.

I am sure you know veterans who have sacrificed a limb or were wounded in battle. They sacrificed for their country. Holding dear an abstract ideal, they were willing to die for. When you meet these people, you must admire the sacrifices that they make every day in their bodies. They gave not because they would get rich or become celebrities. They were willing to sacrifice the most precious thing they owned: themselves.

In the Christian sense, sacrifice is the foundation of the Faith. Jesus loved us and gave his life for our selfishness and self-centered desires. He willingly gave of himself for us in a brutal and bloody death on the Cross. Sacrificing His life for those he loved.

Human beings can sacrifice for others, their community, and the world. The reward for those who do so is great. You get to know who you are andt how far you can stretch your life to encompass the needs of others. You will become aware of the depth of your soul and find love that makes life worth living.

Kathleen Carlton Johnson, Ph.D., hospice chaplain, may be reached at faithtoday2023@gmail.com.