Jesus became one of us

Our recent celebration of Easter inspires us to think about God taking on human form through Jesus, whose death on the cross and subsequent resurrection offers us the promise of new life.

But what if we move beyond a narrow focus on the resurrection and instead contemplate the full implications of Jesus’ life and ministry? In particular, can his life offer some lessons for our current context, especially if we focus on Jesus’ humanity?

It’s easy to overlook the similarities between Jesus’ life and times and ours, and how Jesus participated in our common humanity. First, Jesus had four brothers—James, Joses, Judas and Simon – as well as sisters who are not named (Mark 6:3), so it’s very likely that Jesus helped at home with caring for his siblings, which might explain how comfortable he was with children during his ministry.

As the son of a carpenter who passed on his trade, Jesus was very familiar with the world of hard work. In a society where most land was owned by the Romans and their aristocratic associates, Jesus’ family probably did some small-scale farming or kept a large garden to help feed the family. Many of the parables, such as the parables of the sower and of the mustard seed (Mark 4:1-34), indicate that Jesus knew about farming practices.

Jesus shared in the other challenges of everyday life that many others in his society also faced. Like them, Jesus had to get around on foot, in a largely harsh, hot desert land.

Another similarity between Jesus’ life and ours is that he experienced the full range of human emotions, even if he experienced them in different circumstances from us. During the crucifixion, Jesus experienced intense physical pain, emotional agony and a profound sense of abandonment, culminating in the cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

Jesus experienced strong emotions at other times as well. We’re familiar with the anger he felt when expelling the merchants and money changers from the temple (Matthew 21:12-13). He could also be troubled and deeply moved, such as with Mary of Bethany’s grief over Lazarus (John 11:33). He was anxious at other times, and he even wept (John 11:35).

It’s significant that God became a human not among the upper-class elite of his time but as a member of the lower class, among people living under an enemy occupation. Jesus then chose other people from the working class of that society, such as fishermen and a tax collector, to become part of his counter-cultural movement, one that aimed to turn that oppressive society upside down. Confronting Roman military occupation was an act of immense courage and faith.

Could we be called to do likewise? That is, to show similar courage and faith in responding to the challenges we face in our society, instead of feeling powerless and pessimistic about our capacity to effect change?

Theologian Walter Brueggemann notes in his poem “On Reading Samuel:”

In a flash, it may dawn on us:
You call and designate people like us, your agents.
Kingdoms rage…and we are called;
Empires tremble…and we are designated…
Us vulnerable, frail, anxious, your people.

What an invitation!

It’s an invitation that can give us fresh hope at a time when many of us are not feeling hopeful but rather discouraged and disempowered, given the political and economic turmoil of our times.

The more we accept the humanity of Jesus and that he experienced a gamut of emotions, as most of us do, the more we can identify with him. His teachings, and their potential to empower us to take on the challenges before us, become even more compelling.

Reflecting on the kind of life Jesus led enables us to see that God became human through Jesus in order to show us how to live. He modeled a way of being that can enable us to rise above our human fears and frailties. Jesus shows us that there is much more to being human than the everyday circumstances in which we find ourselves. That’s an important lesson in these anxious times.