There is a notion in chemistry called activation energy. The idea being that, even for reactions that are going to give off a lot of energy, you have to supply a little energy up front to get them going. Think about lighting a match in order to start a big campfire. Tons of energy given off, but without the match, the kindling and the wood just sit there. An analogous idea can be found in the very colloquial business saying, “It takes money to make money.” Imagine if you had been able to invest $1000 in Nike or Apple or Tesla when the company first went public.
Sacrifice and Blessing
In today’s Gospel, Peter contrasts himself and his brother disciples with the rich young man in yesterday’s parable; he notes that they have made a huge sacrifice to follow Christ and wants to know what they’ll get in return. And, maybe surprisingly, Jesus doesn’t rebuke Peter, doesn’t put him in his place for what could seem like a pretty self-centered question. Instead, Jesus promises that, whatever sacrifice we make, it will be a tiny investment compared to the fruits we receive. As one of my Scripture professors at Baylor put it to me many years ago, “You can’t ever outgive God.”
Now, we must be careful here. The great Christian tradition has never interpreted these verses to mean what we rightly disparage as the “prosperity Gospel.” Nevertheless, there are some ways in which we can take Jesus’ words literally and apply them to the realities of this life. Consider, for instance all the beautiful Christian churches in our own neighborhoods and all the truly magnificent churches throughout the world. All that architecture, art, stained glass. Any one of us can walk into one of these houses of God and legitimately say, “I’m at home here. This is mine, this is ours.” And that’s not even considering the fact that we encounter the truest treasure, the Blessed Sacrament, in each of these Catholic churches; I was just talking materially.
The Treasure of Relationship
Or think in terms of relationships. If a pastor invests in building up his parish community, and if you and your fellow parishioners do the same, think how many friends, how many brothers and sisters and fathers and mothers and children you will have instantly gained. It’s impossible to imagine cultivating all those friendships and bonds on your own, but when everyone is devoted to Jesus Christ, He can bind so many of us to each another in astonishing ways.
On a more intimate level, this dynamic of sacrifice and blessing is at the heart of our vocations. In religious vows, or marriage vows, or the commitment to live a chaste, single life, the sacrifices are real and not to be minimized. But, when embraced authentically, these sacrifices can yield a hundredfold in graces, in the benefits of meaning and relationship.
The Blessing of Family
And the family in particular can model these wonderful principles. The commitment to eat together and to pray together, these require genuine sacrifice: sacrifice of time and energy, sacrifice of the activities you otherwise could be engaged in. But if you invest that time and energy around your dinner table and in your family prayer space, you are inviting God Himself into your everyday life in a very explicit way. In turn, He will give you so much more than you offer, more than (but perhaps different from) what you can imagine.
- Father Charlie's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
- To join the Rosary and Mass Livestream, visit the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday–Friday. Consider inviting others to join, too! (*If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)
