With the collapse of the Afghan government to the Taliban following the withdrawal of US troops, people have asked whether this defeat means that the sacrifice of blood and treasure was in vain.  Did all the killed and wounded American and NATO troops lose their health or their very lives for nothing?  Did we throw away a trillion dollars for nothing?  Did the families of service people who made multiple deployments make those sacrifices for nothing?

Well, if we answer that question only in terms of the political and military outcome, then it would be hard to avoid saying that the sacrifice represented by the service of our military and their families was wasted.

But I don’t think that the people who actually made the sacrifices would agree that they were for nothing.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m pretty sure that most of them are bitterly disappointed in the outcome of this 20-year struggle.  Some are angry and some feel betrayed and used.  But even these do not necessarily believe their sacrifices were in vain.

Their sacrifices were made not just to achieve a particular outcome.  Their sacrifices were made for their country, which they bravely defended.  Their sacrifices were to their duty.  Each patrol they walked, each mission they undertook, each order obeyed without flinching or dereliction was a sacrifice.  They faithfully sacrificed safety and ease to do what was needed.  They sacrificed for the safety of their brothers and sisters in arms.  They sacrificed for the sake of their own honor.

Sacrifice is not an economic exchange.  We don’t give up our loves and our labor and our lives to get something in exchange.  We give up our selves because we love something or someone more than our selves.

Christ’s sacrifice of himself was not a bribe paid to satisfy the wrath of an angry Father.  Christ’s sacrifice, like a soldier’s sacrifice, was an offering of his life (in union with the Father) because he loved us more than life itself.

Lives spent in love are necessarily sacrificial.  Sometimes the sacrifices we make aren’t enough to heal the ones we love, or keep marriages together, or make children find the peace we wish for them.  Those failures hurt, but the sacrifice is not in vain.  Sacrifice is the way of the cross.  Christians are called to live cruciform lives in Easter faith.

Prayer:  When I would refuse to give more than I bear to lose, let my love grow big enough to risk it all.  Amen.