Isaiah 49:1-6 /John 13:21-33, 36-38
One of the spiritual things that we might have thought of doing for the season of Lent is to give up something.
What comes to mind will be our pleasures and desires and other bad habits and practices.
So it might be giving up drinking or smoking, or giving up a meal a day, or going on a bread-and-water diet.
But whatever we might think of giving up, we would not likely ever think of giving up our life for someone.
Even giving up something of our own for another person is already difficult.
When Jesus decided to give up His life to save sinners, not only was there no appreciation, rather, He faced rejection.
And it came from one of His disciples who will betray Him.
Though Peter said that he will lay down his life, Jesus knew that when it comes to the test, each will be for himself.
Yes, when it comes to the test, we will rather save ourselves than to lay down our lives for others.
We might think it is not worth it to make the sacrifice, or to be charitable, or to give way.
But as the 1st reading tells us, we will not toil in vain, nor will we exhaust ourselves for nothing.
Because God knows, and He will be our strength and our reward.
And when we offer up our lives to God for the good of others, let us also remember what Jesus said: the person who gives up his life for the sake of Jesus will save it.