Jesus was responding to the criticism that he received from healing the man at the pool of Bethesda. The issue for those who were incensed was that he healed on the Sabbath, and he did not help his case any when he justified doing so by saying that he was directed to do so by his Father: “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes” (Jn 5:21). Jesus did not make concessions with those who opposed him. He clearly stated the truth about who he is, the Lord of the Sabbath. For those not believing Jesus, that he said that he is equal with God… this is blasphemy of the highest order. This is one of the reasons they plot to kill him.
So too in our own age, there are many ways to express our understanding and belief about who Jesus was in his time and still is today. If you haven’t thought about Jesus beyond his name in a while, about who he really is and why he is relevant to our lives, then allow St. Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, who lived from 297 to 373 AD, to offer a point to ponder today. Athanasius held firmly to and taught with conviction that Jesus is, “the Son of God [who] became man so that we might become God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 480). We cannot be saved on our own merits, through our own will power, and discipline alone. Jesus can save us particularly because in what he assumes as fully human, he is able to redeem as fully divine.
The reality that the second Person of the Holy Trinity, was conceived in the womb of Mary and became one with us in our humanity by becoming man, so that we can become one with him in his divinity, is something worth meditating and praying about. There is much writing and discussion about how many people are leaving the Church, while at the same time still hungry, I would say starving, for a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. This is true for those who leave as well as those who remain, whether either could or would articulate it in that way. Could it be that we have forgotten the foundation of our faith, which is participating in and deepening our relationship with Jesus?
The words of St. Athanasius, “The Son of God became man so that we might become God.” Are words that will help us to remember who and whose we are. They are words that might help us to remember our meaning and purpose in life. They are words that might help us to finish our Lent a little stronger and enter the Easter Season a bit more freer!
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Photo: On the way to my evening Rosary walk. St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 