"I'd Rather Talk About His Humanity"

One of my favorite movies is Chocolat. I like it because it directly addresses something I used to struggle with. For a long time I thought that Heavenly Father demanded perfection, strict adherence to every commandment, and rigid  boundaries against anything that was evil. I was hard on myself and others for imperfection. I was not completely heartless! But I was far more focused on obedience than love. In the film Chocolat, the young priest addresses a small town congregation on Easter morning. He says,   

I'm not sure what the theme of my homily today ought to be. Do I want to speak of the miracle... of our Lord's divine transformation? Not really, no. I don't want to talk about His divinity. I'd rather talk about His humanity. I mean, you know, how he lived his life here on Earth. His kindness. His tolerance. Listen, here's what I think. I think we can't go around... measuring our goodness by what we don't do. By what we deny ourselves... what we resist and who we exclude. I think we've got to measure goodness... by what we embrace... what we create... and who we include.

I have pondered on that concept. My perspective on Christ and following Christ has changed. While obedience played its role, Christ did a lot of things (more things?) that reflect this kind, tolerant way of treating people: all people. I imagine His kindness was experienced more than His wine to water type of miracles. He looked like a normal person, not an angel. He did normal person things like eat and sleep. I'm sure He didn't always smell good! For me, this is encouraging. I believe that He lived a sinless perfect life, I do not try to lessen His glory. However, I like it when I can tell  He lived in a hot, dusty, bug-y, smelly world. He was tempted and experienced fatigue and hunger and he did it over a lifetime, not in one day!

A few scripture excerpts for you, although I'm sure there are better ones...

Roughly quoted...

" He... Sat at meat" (Matt 9:10)
"He... took her by the hand" (Matt 9:25)
"He... plucked ears of corn and ate" (Matt 21:1)

etc.

Champion good! What do you see of Christ's humanity in the scriptures?

Shadowing

My dad worked on projects in the garage. So, I would just kind of sneak in through the door and watch him. Then I would inch closer and watch him. Then I would grab a screw driver and watch him. Then eventually my dad would let me help. By the time the job was finished, I felt equal ownership in the final result. My Dad and I were a team!

My mom worked on projects in her office or in the kitchen. Same technique. Watch, listen, inch inch inch, watch, get to help! Once I was helping, she would put her hands on mine to guide how much paint I put on the brush or how much pepper I put in the soup. She would show me the recipe or explain how she wanted the paint job to look. I got better and better at figuring out what she had in mind.

My brother worked on projects in the backyard. He thought BIG. Usually I had small ideas."Let's gather sticks and pretend we are building a fire!" My brother would load up his backpack and some bologna sandwiches and we would go camping! The two of us would try and fail to make a fire by rubbing sticks together. (Imagine my brother furiously rubbing the sticks together, his nine-year old frame struggling with the endurance factor, "I read about it in a book! It works, I swear!") We would hunt crawdads, put our makeshift fishing lines in the creek, build a shelter out of pine branches, and wish we were real outdoors men. Usually this would last until it was time for dinner, but it felt real! Why pretend when you can do the real thing?

I like to think of living the gospel of Jesus Christ as 'shadowing' Heavenly Father (God) and His Son, Jesus. The process is gradual. We start out just being curious and peeking in to watch them work. Then we inch closer and pick up a tool. Once we have volunteered, they are willing to take our hands in theirs and guide our work. It doesn't always look as good as their work, but they're happy we are helping! They show us the recipe or their vision of what the finished product will look like. Usually, their ideas are much bigger than ours. We have to leave the comfort of our backyard and go adventuring! But, it makes life real. It gives you stories to tell and skills to share. You grow to become, think, and do what they do.

Champion Good! Shadow God for a day!