Are sacrifices worth it?

Folks who identify as Christian are once again enmeshed in the annual navigation of the 40-day period of sober reflection known as Lent.

In my former years of pastoral ministry, I described Lent, which has no New Testament authorization but is regularly practiced in many traditions, including my own, as necessary in a fast-moving, instant gratification world.

Lent slows down believers long enough, in the period, excluding Sundays, between Ash Wednesday and Resurrection Sunday (Easter), to get us in touch with the enormity of Jesus's sacrifice.

Was His sacrifice worth it?

Let's defer a reply to that important question by looking at other occasions in which people have given up something in order to benefit another -- which seems to be at the heart of the definition of sacrifice.

A small one

Four decades ago, a friend of mine from college -- I'll call him Tom to protect his anonymity -- selected a person we both knew to be his best man. The friend's choice, frankly, was a head-scratcher. While Tom knew his best man, the two weren't close.

I'm sure the decision caused consternation with several young men, including myself, who considered themselves far better friends to Tom.

When I saw Tom years later, I asked him about his choice to spotlight this particular individual in his wedding, one of the most important days of anyone's life.

"Well," Tom replied, "I felt no one would appreciate it more than he would."

Tom told me he did not regret his choice, that the look on his best man's face when asked to stand up with Tom, was worth Tom's sacrifice.

A much larger one

The filmmakers of the 1963 film "The Great Escape" took some liberties with the real-life story of Allied prisoners of war digging a tunnel to escape a German prison camp during World War II.

Names were changed, composite characters were created, but the basic tale hews somewhat closely to what actually happened.

In March 1944, 76 men tunneled their way out of Stalag Luft III, 100 miles southeast of Berlin.

Only three men made it to freedom. 50 were shot at the orders of the German High Command and 23 POWs were returned. The latter were freed when the Soviet Red Army liberated the camp in January 1945.

A child of one of the killed escapees was asked many years later his opinion about the breakout.

In his expansive answer, the child, by the time of the interview an elderly man, responded, "I was told 100,000 German soldiers were tasked to find the POWs, which diverted some Nazi resources away from the fighting. But you're asking if my dad's death was worth it. From where I sit, I would say no."

The biggest one

Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night Roman Catholics call Holy Thursday.

It's an idyllic spot today, just south of the Church of All Nations in the lower section of the Mount of Olives, facing the Old City wall of Jerusalem.

Tourists can view the garden but cannot walk amongst the trees.

The canonical Gospels (my favorite account is Mark's) report Jesus had gone there to pray as Judas Iscariot led Roman soldiers to confront him.

Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Jesus's passion knows how the rest of the story plays out -- arrest; sham trial before the Sanhedrin; appearance before Pilate; appearance before Herod Antipas; back to Pilate; crowd asks for Barabbas, not Jesus; Pilate finds no fault in Jesus but condemns him out of expediency; He is beaten, crucified, buried in a rich man's tomb, resurrected and ascended to heaven.

As someone familiar with the story, as many reading this column no doubt are as well, I've long had a question.

"In the Garden, did Jesus think about fleeing for safety when he saw the Roman guard approaching?"

If He was, as the church has always claimed, fully divine and fully human, the answer must be yes.

Self-preservation is any person's strongest impulse.

The Gospels are unanimous He didn't run but stayed and played out what He must have known was the inevitable.

Was His sacrifice worth it?

The church has consistently said yes. His death on a cross canceled sin, setting the believer free.

I have unreservedly said yes, for I have long leaned into the same understanding found powerfully in Romans Chapter 8.

What did his mother, Mary, think, though?

She gave him birth, reared him, loved him, worried for him and watched him suffer.

Did Mary think His sacrifice was worth it?

Now that's a question.

Mary's reply must wait until each of us crosses the veil of tears.

The answer when it comes to sacrifice always depends on where you sit -- on what you will lose and how you stand to benefit.