BEING HUMAN

BEING HUMAN

Why did Jesus take on the enormous challenge of living among us?  Was it to redeem us and pay for all our sins or did he come to teach us how to be human?  The answer is both. 

“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.”

Why would he do that?  There can only be one valid reason; he came to show us how to be fully human using all the gifts God has given us to make this a good world.

As he hung on the cross, he cried out “Father, why have you forsaken me?” Aside from his death, it was the last human thing he did.  He had hit rock bottom. He laid it all out there, the agony and the despair.  How can we not relate to Him? 

For centuries, Jesus’ redemption of us took a front row seat with the emphasis on his sacrifice and our guilt.  In the meantime, his humanity sat in the back.  But there is now a wave of understanding sweeping the world.  Jesus humanity is the thing upon which all people can rely. A figure that is both God and man became one of us for the express purpose of teaching us how to live.  How this is possible is a mystery.  What is not a mystery is that Jesus was truly human. That is reality. Many writers and philosophers are encouraging us to see Jesus as He truly is. His humanity is our lifeline, our strength and our link to God.   

The remoteness of God is erased because of Jesus.  There is no way that Jesus returned to heaven and forgot all about us. Instead, we are invigorated by his parting words; “I go to make a place for you” and “Behold I am with you all days”.  He has given us the assurance that our bond with him is permanent. 

Shouldn’t we be on fire over this?  After Pentecost the Disciples were on fire. After his sight was restored, St. Paul was on fire. They spread that fire to many others; Luke, Timothy, Lois and Eunice, just to name a few.  They remained in that state all their lives.  It wasn’t that they were all preachers, it was that they lived their lives in imitation of Jesus.  Why are we still so petty about everything?  Why are we so casual about Jesus? Why can’t we see what has been done for us and rejoice in it.  Don’t we want to be the kind of human being Jesus was?  How can we ignore what He did?  God, the Creator lived as we do, suffered as we do, and died as we do.  Nothing anyone has ever done for anyone else can come close to this.  

“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, on the earth and under the earth.” 

Phillipians 20:10

Live each day in imitation of Christ with the love of God as our strength.

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA