Giving Everything, Keeping Nothing

In a few days Holy Week 2012 begins with Palm Sunday celebrations. Holy Week is one of my favorite seasons, a time when Christians are reminded of the cross and resurrection in a concerted way. Pat and I are planning our Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter worship schedule.

One of the highlights of my annual Scripture reading during Holy Week is the account of the woman memorialized by Jesus, “Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” (Mark 12)

While reflecting on Jesus’ lesson, “Offerings are measured by how much we keep, not by how much we give,” I was reminded of three deeply moving experiences. The first experience that powerfully impacted me was our family’s first visit to Arlington National Cemetery. After passing the memorial to Iwo Jima fighters at the entrance, I was stunned by the endless rows of headstones marking the graves of US servicemen and women. Many of those buried were killed in action well before their thirtieth birthday, my age at the time of my first visit.

The second sobering, disconcerting event occurred while Pat and I casually approached the memorial at Pearl Harbor. We were vacationing, enjoying the beauty of Hawaii, and totally unprepared for what happened. The bridge over the sunken USS Arizona spans the watery graves of more than eleven hundred men. In addition to more than a thousand lives abruptly ended, more than eleven hundred families, parents, children, siblings, and spouses were forever changed.

I was unprepared for the depth of feelings in the committal shelter at the Springfield Veterans Cemetery in Missouri. I was leading Pastor Charles Green’s family and friends with brief remarks, a Scripture reading, and prayer. An officer’s orders cut through the cold air, rifle shots rang out immediately afterward. Military personnel in dress uniform proceeded to fold a flag that had draped Pastor Green’s casket, and then an officer made a short speech while presenting the flag to Sister Green. At that moment I more fully realized that one of my best friends had given several years of his life for others.

The sacrifices of others ought to sober us. I am embarrassed that it took so long to realize how costly the best things in life are. During Holy Week we are called to remember the death of the cross, the price paid for our salvation and eternal life.