The man the world knows as "Father Damien" was born Jozef De Veuster
8. COURAGE TO SACRIFICE
The man the world knows as "Father Damien" was born Jozef De Veuster in Tremeloo, Belgium, in 1840. Like his older brother Pamphile, the young Jozef became a priest, but he longed to serve as a missionary. He is said to have prayed daily that he would be allowed to serve in this way, and when his brother – who had been selected to serve as a missionary in Hawaii – became ill, Jozef was allowed to take his place.
He arrived in Honolulu in 1864, and on his ordination there he took the name Damien. For eight years he served on the Big Island of Hawaii, but his service had hardly begun. In the early 1870's the government of Hawaii felt forced to confine hundreds of sufferers from the terrible and then untreatable disease of leprosy (Hansen's disease) on a remote peninsula of the island of Molokai. The conditions for those in the quarantined community were appalling, but Damien was the first to volunteer to go to serve these people – knowing full well that in doing so he risked his own life.
In 1873, the thirty-three year old Damien was introduced to the colony at Kalawao on Molokai by the Catholic Bishop of Hawaii who told the crowd of doomed and dying that he had brought them someone "who will be a father to you … who loves you so much that ... he does not hesitate to become one of you; to live and die with you." Damien learned the Hawaiian language and threw himself into the work of serving the colony. He immediately organized the building of a church and became a priest to the group, but he also worked with his hands to serve them. He built homes for the people, constructed a water system, made furniture, built coffins and dug graves as they were needed. More importantly, he showed the outcast and rejected leprosy sufferers acceptance in a way no one else did. He worked directly with them, dressing their ulcers, comforting and encouraging them daily.
As a result of Damien's service and the hope he instilled, the community was transformed. Makeshift shacks were turned into painted houses, farms and gardens were started, and even schools were established. The people of the colony came to love him greatly and when Damien had opportunity to leave the island to be replaced by another priest, he elected to stay on. It is clear that the people he served had become his life. Even as early as six months after his arrival on Molokai, Damien had written to his brother "...I make myself a leper with the lepers
to gain all to Jesus Christ." The statement would, of course, be proven true.
In 1884 it became clear that Damien had contracted leprosy. Despite the disease he continued to work to build as many homes as possible and to plan for the successful continuation of the community. Damien died of the terrible disease he had helped others live with on April 15, 1889, at the age of 49. He was mourned not only by the colony, but also by many Hawaiians who knew of the work of the man they called "Kamiano [Damien] o Molokaʻi."
Damien's work resulted in a greatly increased awareness of the disease of leprosy and the plight of its victims worldwide. His life and death also remain an inspiring testimony to the potential impact of personal sacrifice under the harshest and saddest conditions that occur in this world.
Sacrifice – The Ultimate Test In many ways, our willingness to sacrifice is the ultimate test of whether Christ is truly living within us through the Spirit of God that we are given (John 14:16–18). We can have obedience, faith, trust, and even willingness to serve, and still fall short of the willingness to sacrifice for others. This truth lies behind the New Testament story of the rich young man who came to Jesus:
[A] man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.'" "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Mark 10:17–22) In this story we see the rich young man's humility, his dedication, and his evident obedience to God's commandments – none of which was challenged or questioned by Jesus. The story makes clear in fact, that
Jesus loved him and told him the one thing he lacked was the spirit of sacrifice. But we are told that the rich man "went away sad" because although he now knew what he must do, he did not have the courage to sacrifice his wealth for others. There is a lesson in this story for all of us, and later in his ministry Jesus drove that lesson home to his disciples when he told them:
"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26) These words of Jesus are central to his teaching and should give us all pause to ask ourselves if there are areas of life in which we do not have the desire or courage to sacrifice. Fortunately, most of us do not have to physically give up our lives in order to follow Jesus, and most of us are not called to have to give up all we own, but there is no doubt that we should be willing to do so if necessary, and that we should be willing to give up any part of our lives that needs to be sacrificed.
But in our day-to-day lives, what is it that we are called to sacrifice? Most importantly, of course, Christianity calls us to sacrifice our own will to that of God, to sacrifice our own way of life to that of God, and to willingly sacrifice anything that comes between us and God. This is what Paul meant when he wrote "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship" (Romans 12:1).
Christians are also called to sacrifice part of what we receive in order to help others. In Acts 20:35 we read the only saying of Jesus quoted outside of the Gospels that isn't included in them – where Jesus said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." This means that although the Old Testament laws of tithing are no longer in effect, the principle of tithing – of sacrificing part of our income to God and to help others – is certainly a Christian principle in full effect. Paul says explicitly that we should give as we are able (1 Corinthians 16:2). Sometimes, when our financial situation is not the best, giving even a small amount to others less fortunate than ourselves can take courage, but God always honors that kind of courage, and when it is there it invariably brings us joy as well as helping those for whom we sacrifice.
In the same way, when we willingly restrict our own freedoms and set aside our own rights, where necessary, to best help those God has called us to serve, we are sacrificing ourselves for them. This kind of self-denial is what Jesus was speaking of when he said, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23). Jesus modeled this kind of sacrifice for us in the way he lived, as well as modeling ultimate sacrifice for us in his death. Not only did the Son of God sacrifice his own will to that of the Father (Matthew 26:39), but he also gave up his time and many physical necessities and comforts in order to serve others to the full (Matthew 20:28). This is the model that Kamiano o Molokaʻi so successfully copied with such evident courage in his extraordinary willingness to sacrifice himself for others. Passing the Test of Sacrifice The great sacrifices made Damien and by other men and women through the ages all required courage. It is probably true that many who sacrificed themselves for others – especially in combat or in rescue and other lifeand-death situations – did so through a strong sense of duty or a feeling of responsibility. As Christians, we can share those feelings too, but ultimately the quality that most often powers Christian sacrifice on an everyday level is simply that of love. We see this in the words of Jesus himself: "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13) – love can power even the ultimate sacrifice that we can make. And that love carries with it the courage to sacrifice. The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu confirmed this truth when he said, "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." Although Lao Tzu was speaking of physical love, his observation is a truth that applies equally to spiritual love.
Of course, we may sacrifice without love – as Paul wrote: "If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:3 NLT). But where true outgoing love is present, it can provide the willingness and the courage to sacrifice for others – and that is necessary more often than we might think.
The two greatest commandments as enumerated by Jesus (Matthew 22:36–40) both require self-sacrifice. The first great commandment – that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength – requires us to sacrifice much of our own nature. The second great commandment –
that we love our neighbor as ourselves – often requires that we sacrifice of our time and energy. The small ways in which we sacrifice what we are, and what we do, may often seem insignificant, but in reality, they represent the sacrifice of our very selves that God desires to see and with which he is well pleased. Whenever we put God and others before ourselves, we make a sacrifice of love. The sacrifice may be one we make for our marriage partner, our children, our parents, our friends, our coworkers, or for others we serve. In fact, wherever and whenever we interact with others in a meaningful way, it is usually possible to give of ourselves to some degree if we choose to do so.
Whenever we do such things, we are learning to sacrifice as Jesus did – because, as Paul so clearly states, we are no longer living for ourselves: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20 ESV).
CONCLUSION: TAKE COURAGE!
We have seen in this book that there are a number of reasons why every Christian needs courage, and we have seen some of the many types of courage in action and what a difference courage has made in the lives of believers in biblical times, through history, and today. What we need now is to understand that for all these reasons taking courage is not just encouraged of believers – it is commanded.
In the Old Testament we find a number of Hebrew words translated as "courage" in our Bibles, but all of them connote the idea of inner strength and outward determination. In context these words repeatedly show us that God promises to increase our courage if we do our part. For example, God told Joshua "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9). In this verse, and in many others, we see that courage is commanded, that we are told to be strong, and that God then works with us to reinforce our courage and help it do its work.
When we turn to the New Testament, we can see courage openly or behind the scenes in virtually every book of the Christian Scriptures. The Greek word tharseo, translated courage in most of these instances has the primary sense of "to be bold; to trust in something or someone" (as we see in the use of tharseo in the Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament where the word is found in Proverbs 31:11 (ESV; etc.): "the heart of her husband trusts in her." As a result of this kind of bold trust, the word also means "to be confident" or "courageous." For the Christian, of course, it is trust in God that provides the basis for courageous belief and action, and we clearly see the relation between the command to take courage and our trust in Jesus, the Son of God. Importantly, the specific expression to "take courage" is found only seven times in the New Testament, but it is never a suggestion or something to consider – it is always a command, and in every instance but one it is a command spoken by Jesus himself (and in the remaining instance – Mark 10:49 BSB – it is spoken regarding him).
Jesus commanded people to take courage regarding both physical and spiritual circumstances. In Matthew 9:2, we see Jesus told the paralyzed man to take courage because "your sins are forgiven." In Matthew 9:22, Jesus told the woman with a flow of blood to take courage because "your faith has healed you." In Matthew 14:27 (and also Mark 6:50), when Jesus
came to the disciples on the Sea of Galilee, he told them to take courage because "It is I. Don't be afraid." In John 16:33 BSB, Jesus told his disciples to take courage because "I have overcome the world!" Finally, in Acts 23:11, when Jesus appeared to Paul in prison, he told him to take courage because he would enable him to go to Rome to continue his work. In every case the commanded courage was to be based on faith in the power of Jesus himself. This can be tremendously encouraging because we are not simply commanded to take courage then left to do our best on our own strength. Rather, we are only commanded because the help of God is available to us.
A simple analogy can help us understand this. In the game of chess, the lowly pawn – just as the human believer – has little power of its own. But chess contains the possibility of "promotion" in which, given the right circumstances, a lowly pawn is converted to a queen – the most powerful piece on the board. In the same way, if we allow ourselves to be used by God, he can take us and turn us into courageous performers and wielders of faith. That is the truth that lies behind scriptures in both the Old and New Testament in which believers asked for and received courageous strength. We see it, for example, in the words of the warrior David: "On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul" (Psalm 138:3 BSB); and those of the apostle Paul: "Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel ... Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should" (Ephesians 6:19–20).
We can be of good courage because boldness to do what is right and to do the work of God is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It was one of the very first characteristics manifested when the Spirit indwelt believers at the inception of the New Testament church. Although the followers of Jesus had been hiding in fear of the Jewish religious authorities (Acts 1:12–14), once the Holy Spirit came, the same timid disciples became courageous preachers (Acts 2:1–4). Even though they soon faced persecution for their teaching, they responded by praying for boldness and their prayer was answered – through the help of the Holy Spirit they "spoke the word of God boldly" (Acts 4:31).
Paul knew that this was not a one-time event, and that God will also give us the courage we need if we only ask and then act in faith. That is why Paul, perhaps the most courageous of all the apostles, could write: "So we are always of good courage … for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage" (2 Corinthians 5:6–8 ESV).
Courage is not just for heroes – it is for everyone who desires to do what is right and to do the work God calls us to. That is why God commands us all to live courageously and offers us the help that we need to do so. If we look back through history, we can see that the effect of courage on the growth of Christianity has been enormous – with God's help in our own lives, the effect of Christianity on the growth of our courage can be equally profound. Courage is possible for everyone and available for all who need it. That is why we are told repeatedly: "Take courage!"
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