March 7, 2010 3rd Sunday of Lent

Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. - Romans 5:7-8

It is a difficult concept to understand. Why did Jesus have to die for us? After all, God is God. He could have just chosen to forgive us, to wipe away all of our sin. But no, that isn't how it happened. Instead, He sends His own son, God himself, to die for us. This was no ordinary death, either. This was a criminal's death - a death full of shame and humiliation. Through the Crucifixion, and ultimately, through the Resurrection, God showed that death and sin had been conquered. Evil would not prevail. Jesus loved us that much - that He was willing to die for us, when we were the ones who put Him there in the first place.