As is described in today’s Gospel, the death of Jesus was a tragic event indeed. Yet, it becomes even more tragic in our eyes when we understand that it was not necessary. And it was not necessary because the incarnation itself, the coming of God’s Word into our flesh, was not necessary for our salvation.

For God could have forgiven Adam’s sin and our own sins without requiring anything else than a simple act of repentance. This is the unanimous opinion of all the Fathers of the Church and all the medieval theologians of the 17th century. Now, if the incarnation was not necessary for our salvation—and consequently, Christ’s death was not necessary either—why did God send us his Son and accepted his death as an act of reparation in our name?

The great St. Thomas Aquinas, perhaps the Church’s greatest theologian, answers this question in the following way: “It was fitting that the human nature be restored through a reparation… For indeed, if man had not offered a full reparation, he would not have recovered after his sin the same glory he had in the state of his innocence. For it was more glorious for man to atone for his sin through a complete reparation than to have been forgiven unconditionally, just as it is more glorious for him to merit eternal life than to receive it without any merit on his part.

For indeed, what one merits one draws from himself as it were, inasmuch as one merits it. In like manner reparation enables the one who atones to become somehow the source of his forgiveness.” In short, the death of Jesus was such a tragedy in great part because it was not absolutely necessary for our salvation.

However, precisely for that very reason, it shines forth even more clearly as a gratuitous act of pure love: the love of the Father, who wanted us to have the glory of being saved by a human being like us, and the love of Jesus who readily accepted to act in our behalf, bringing us back to God as our leader and perfect representative. This is powerfully expressed in the Third Preface for Sundays in Ordinary Time: “We see your infinite power in your loving plan of salvation. You came to our rescue by your power as God, but you wanted us to be saved by one like us. Man refused your friendship, but man himself was to restore it through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”

Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.”

There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit (…)

Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2026,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.