Expiation

WE need to develop in ourselves the spirit of expiation which we might describe as having the mind of paying and atoning for our sins, repairing what we have damaged, curing what we have harmed.

            We cannot help but have faults and weaknesses, commit mistakes and sins, and all these have their consequences that we have to learn how to handle. This is a fact of life, an unavoidable occurrence in our life. As St. John said, “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 Jn 1,8)

            We should not anymore make a big fuss about this reality. We just have to acknowledge it and learn how to deal with it properly. What is obvious is that we need redemption.

            That is why right after the fall of our first parents, the idea and the need for expiation by offering some sacrifices were already inculcated, as in the case of Abel and Cain and the many other biblical characters.

            The divine pedagogy about this practice continues with increasing clarity with Christ’s sacrifice as the summit and abiding model and goal for everyone to follow.

            We have to understand then that expiation is an essential ingredient of our life here on earth. It’s a real necessity, ignoring which can only mean a terrible insensitivity on our part.

            We need to know more about this need, especially its motives and means. And let’s help one another develop this spirit, which can easily be acquired and lived if we have the proper attitude and disposition, the proper understanding and matching skills.

            While in the beginning expiation was done mainly by offering something to God, now we have to understand that expiation can only be properly done if done together with Christ who did not only offer something to his Father, but rather his own self.

            Christ’s passion, death and resurrection is the perfect sacrifice that fully paid for the all the transgressions of men. He is the perfect redeemer and savior, because he is both God and man, and thus connects God and man all the way.

            Only Christ can satisfy divine justice for our sins. Without him, no matter how much we try, we cannot fully satisfy God’s justice, since we are only man alienated from God due to sin.

            In other words, Christ assumed all the sinfulness of man without committing sin so we can be reconciled with God. This he did out of sheer divine love for us. St. Paul expresses this truth well when he said: “Him (Christ), who knew no sin, made himself sin for us, that we might be made the justice of God in him.” (2 Cor 5,21)

            We have to have this kind of mentality. We should learn to be willing to make ourselves like sin, suffering its consequences, as atonement and reparation for the sins of all men, ours and those of everyone else.

            That is why Christ himself said it clearly, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mt 16,24) And for us, the cross can take many forms: physical pain, emotional anguish, moral and spiritual suffering, etc. We need to have a theological attitude toward these unavoidable elements in our life.

            We should embrace them the way Christ embraced the cross. Christ should be the template to follow when dealing our pains and sufferings. That’s when our pains and suffering can have meaning and purpose. They acquire an expiatory and redemptive value.

            Let’s not mind if we feel we don’t deserve the suffering we encounter in this life. Christ did not deserve to suffer and die at all, but he chose to do so, again out of pure love for us. That’s the attitude we should also develop in ourselves.

            Let’s drink heavily on these mysterious words of Christ: “He who loses his life for me shall find it.” (Mt 10,39) These words are meant to build up hope in us and to reinforce the theological way we ought to have when trying to understand the different events in our life.

            And let’s not exaggerate the pain and suffering, since we also would know how to deal with them. St. Paul said: “If you live according to the flesh, you shall die. But if by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live.” (Rom 8,13)

            This is the secret of how to bear all kinds of suffering we can experience here, and how to derive the ultimate good from them.