YOUCAT Question n. 100 - On the Mount of Olives on the night before his death, did Jesus really experience fear of death?
(Youcat
answer) Since Jesus was true man, he truly experienced fear of death on the
Mount of Olives.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 612)
The cup of the New Covenant, which Jesus anticipated when he offered himself at
the Last Supper, is afterwards accepted by him from his Father's hands in his
agony in the garden at Gethsemani (Cf. Mt 26:42; Lk 22:20), making himself
"obedient unto death". Jesus prays: "My Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me…" (Phil 2:8; Mt 26:39; cf. Heb 5:7-8).
Thus he expresses the horror that death represented for his human nature. Like
ours, his human nature is destined for eternal life; but unlike ours, it is
perfectly exempt from sin, the cause of death (Cf. Rom 5:12; Heb 4:15). Above
all, his human nature has been assumed by the divine person of the "Author
of life", the "Living One" (Cf. Acts 3:15; Rev 1:17; Jn 1:4;
5:26). By accepting in his human will that the Father's will be done, he
accepts his death as redemptive, for "he himself bore our sins in his body
on the tree" (1 Pt 2:24; cf. Mt 26:42). 612
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment) With the same
human strength that we all possess, Jesus had to fight in order to consent
interiorly to the Father’s will that he give his life for the life of the world.
Abandoned in his darkest hour by everyone, even his friends, Jesus managed
after a struggle to say Yes. “My Father, if this [cup] cannot pass unless I
drink it, your will be done” (Mt 26:42).
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 1009) Death is transformed by Christ. Jesus,
the Son of God, also himself suffered the death that is part of the human
condition. Yet, despite his anguish as he faced death, he accepted it in an act
of complete and free submission to his Father's will (Cf. Mk 14:33-34; Heb
5:7-8). The obedience of Jesus has transformed the curse of death into a
blessing (Cf. Rom 5:19-21).
No comments:
Post a Comment