We often place value in things according to what it cost us to obtain them. I know exactly how much my new car is worth because I just bought it. Because it’s price is fresh in my mind, I find that I’m being extra careful with my car. It’s valuable to me because it cost a lot. In today’s first reading, Moses tries to impress upon the Israelites how incredibly valuable they are to God. He reminds them that God fought for them and freed them, “by war, with strong hand and outstretched arm.” When the Israelites saw the bodies of the dead Egyptians lying on the shore of the Red Sea, they realized just how much their freedom cost. Moses wants to make sure they remember this.
We do something similar as a country on this Memorial Day weekend. How much do we value our country and our freedom? It depends a lot on how much we realize what our freedom cost. One of the most moving places in Washington, D.C. is Arlington National Cemetery. I would go there often during my time studying in Washington and I always felt the weight of that place, to be surrounded by so many heroes. The men and women buried in Arlington knew how valuable our country is. They were willing to pay the ultimate cost to defend it.
I am always so inspired and grateful on this weekend. Yet, I know that part of the reason that we all feel so in awe of our heroes is because they remind us of something even more valuable than our country. Every one who has ever died defending others is a reminder that God thought that you and I were so valuable that we were worth dying for. How valuable are you to God? Look at the cost. God himself died for you so that you could be free and live forever.
To help get me in the right spirit for a weekend like this, I often pick some patriotic movies to watch. One of my favorites is Saving Private Ryan. All of Private Ryan’s brothers have been killed and the Army has decided to go find him and rescue him before he is killed. A special platoon in sent out and they eventually find him, but many people die in the process. Private Ryan feels very unworthy. As his platoon leader lay dying, his last words to Private Ryan are simply, “Earn this.” The debt has already been paid, the lives lost, so what is really meant is that Ryan would live the rest of his life in a way worthy of the great cost to save him.
While there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, much like all the men who died saving Private Ryan, Jesus has already died to save us. The debt has already been paid. But how much do we value our faith? How much do we value the Eucharist. It very much depends on how much we realize what it cost. In this analogous sense, as we stand before a crucifix we too might do well to hear Jesus tell us, “Earn this.“