The real Essence of Christ's Incarnation is found in the words, "It is Finished."

The real Essence of Christ’s Incarnation is found in the words; “It is Finished.”

When we stood at the Cross of our Suffering Lord, Jesus, our conception had no idea what these words would mean for you and me.  We must go back to when the virgin encountered the Angel Gabriel and his words; “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God.  Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”  (Lk 1: 30 - 33).

Through the Incarnation, nine months later, the very essence of Christ assuming humanity would be the journey of our God becoming man by having two natures in one person that would take on the sinful nature of man to save the same mankind from eternal death.  “After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.”  (Jn  19: 28).  Cf Ps 69:  “Save me, O God, for the waters have reached my neck.  I have sunk into the mire of the deep, where there is no foothold.  I have gone down to the watery depths;  the flood overwhelms me.  I am weary with crying out; my throat is parched.  My eyes have failed looking for my God.”  (Ps 69: 2 - 4).

The Psalmist found the correct words to predict the Son of Man would suffer with a thirst to save all men from their sin, and the dryness he would experience was a parched environment of man’s rejection of what the Incarnation was all about.  

Any time we attend the vigil for a funeral, the words “I Thirst” become a plea for the mourners since it is their own refusal to see this prayer is not for the deceased, it is for us who may refuse to notice we are the victims of any present sin that eludes forgiveness.  

Believing in the Resurrection of Christ brings to the surface of his Passion a sense of awe that will never touch our hearts if we forget why Christ accepted this Crucifixion.  Pilate answered Jesus,” I am not a Jew, am I?  Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.  What have you done?”  Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.  If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.  But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”  So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king.  For this reason I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  (Jn 18: 35 - 37).

Without these several verses acknowledging Christ’s Incarnation, his Passion on the Cross, and his Resurrection from the dead, our own realization of eternal life with God have very little meaning.  With this acceptance, the thirst Christ is looking for will be satisfied as we rise to be with him, eternally.  

Ralph B. Hathaway