Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem
Mark 10:28-31
My Dad began working in a little country store at the age of 16 and retired from that same store over 50 years later. It was part gas station, part ice cream stand, part deli and liquor store, post office, supermarket and local gathering spot. After hours, it was also home for a long string of brotherly games of poker. During all those 50 some years, my Dad ran the store on his own, hardly ever took a vacation, and worked roughly from 5 in the morning to 10 at night, at least 6 days a week. During the school year we basically say him only at dinnertime for about an hour. In the last 10 years of the store’s existence, he was also doing double-duty as the postmaster. And yet in spite of all the hardships, somehow out of that tiny little store, he managed to put all four of his children through high school and college.
I have yet to figure out how he managed to accomplish it. And throughout all those years, I never heard a single complaint or bemoaning of his condition. He simply did what he needed to do to support and nurture his family. I asked him once near the end of his life – what would he have done different? His reply was simple – no regrets, no second thoughts! What sacrifice! What dedication and love of family! And the reward? A full life, a life well-lived and a loving and grateful family!
Sacrifice and reward! We hear something similar in today’s Gospel! Jesus has just finished telling His disciples that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. And now Peter protests ‘Wait a minute, we’ve given up everything to follow you. What’s our reward? Do we even get a reward? What about us?
Peter and the Apostles really have given up everything – family, home, lifestyle and job – all to follow Jesus! Have they sacrificed much? Yes, of course! And the reward? 100 times more than anything you have given up! The Kingdom of Heaven!
What about us? A life of faith is not an easy one. There is suffering; there are sacrifices to be made. And in the times when we feel lost or lacking in hope, let us find the strength to continue in the example of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His promise of eternal life to His faithful disciples.