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Good morning. “We’re all going to have to make sacrifices.” So the politicians have been telling us repeatedly in recent days as they have given commendably honest warnings about the tough measures that are due to be taken on Thursday’s budget. On the face of it, that sounds a bit grim. In the popular mind sacrifice is all about frugality and doing without the things we enjoy. It’s the very opposite of the comfortable life we’re all meant to be after. But digging a bit more deeply into the concept of sacrifice may actually provide us with a rather different way of thinking about how we live our lives. Because it is a practice with a rich and full history which, whilst horrendous for wildlife, played a key role in many cultures in building up society. For example the Romans, whose sacrifice of animals didn’t just acknowledge the power and distinctiveness of their gods, it also provided an opportunity for feasting. Or again in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, the shedding of the blood of a lamb served as a way of atoning for sin and so repairing the relationship with the God of justice, sullied by disobedience. In the same way the death of Jesus on the cross, an act which for Christians is the sacrifice made once and for all, both mends the damaged relationship between God and his people and brings into being the church. In all these cases, sacrifice entails a degree of frugality and doing without, but for a greater good, which is the repairing and sustaining of relationships, with God and each other. So what would it mean to apply all this to the way we live our lives? There seems to be no doubt we will all have to live with less over the next couple of years. The hardship that many face will be acute as energy and food costs rise and the pressure on our institutions increases. Perhaps a richer understanding of the nature sacrifice can give all this a deeper purpose. If sacrifice is all about sustaining the relationships that build up society, then to live sacrificially means to lives one’s life on behalf of others. It means analysing decisions not just economically but also relationally. People may have to make cuts and live simpler lives in the months that lie ahead. But if by so doing, they are making a genuine difference to the lives of the most vulnerable and building up mutual dependency, maybe that’s a price worth paying.