It is the final hour. All of Jesus's journey, and by extension, all of Lent this year, has led up to this moment. The Gospels relate that it was the sixth hour, about noon, when Jesus was nailed to the cross. He finally died three hours later, at around three in the afternoon.
At first glance, the time of Jesus's death might seem like a small detail, but I think it reveals a startling truth that I was only reminded of recently: Jesus didn't die quickly. All the suffering, the torture, the humiliation he's endured, and God doesn't even permit him to die quickly. Jesus hangs on that cross for three hours! Picture it, the nails in his hands and feet, a crown of thorns piercing his head. Every breath must have been agony. His only source of nourishment was gall and vinegar (Mark 15:36). The crowds saw a political rebel, a rival to Caesar. The Pharisees and scribes saw a blasphemer justly condemned. The Blessed Mother saw her son, her precious child.
Jesus didn't have to suffer so intensely In the Middle Ages, a theologian named St. Thomas Aquinas claimed that a single drop of blood would've been enough to save humanity. Jesus didn't just give one drop though. He gave everything, his blood, sweat, and tears. That's how much he loves you. It's how much he loves me. There's no greater way that he could've shown his love for us other than what he did on the cross. That's the way he asks us to love him, by giving everything, by doing our best to put him first. He put us first, we need to do the same.
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