Today, in the perspective of Gospel wisdom, death itself is the bearer of a healthy teaching, because it forces us to look reality in the face; it pushes us to recognize the transience of that which appears great and strong in the eyes of the world. In the face of death every reason for human pride vanishes ("We are unprofitable servants ") and instead what seriously matters comes to the fore ("we have done what we were obliged to do ").

Everything comes to an end; every one of us is passing through this world. Only God has life in Himself; He is life. Ours is a life of participation, given "ab alio" ("by other"); thus a man can gain eternal life only because of the particular relationship that the Creator Himself has established with him.

—O Father, on seeing man distancing himself from You for disobedience (useless servants that we are!). You created a new relation between Yourself and us: Christ Your son, taking us on in His obedience, "laid down His life for us".