FULLY God and FULLY Human
Luke 24:36-53
Jesus Appears to people a few times after his death and resurrection. During Easter, I have enjoyed contemplating what human and earthly things are still happening for Jesus on earth in his heavenly body.
He walks along the road, he talks, he appears human, he eats, he fishes, he cooks breakfast. So much of the experience we know on earth in our earthly experience is still happening in the experience we witness described in the bible of Jeus living in the Heavenly Kingdom of God ON EARTH. And then I came to read this conversation with the greater group of disciples in Luke 24. Jesus asks, “Why are you troubled, and why do questions arise in your hearts?” At first, I read this, and it sounds like Jesus is baffled by the disciples lack of faith; as if Jesus can’t understand how we humans could be troubled or be afraid and have questions. However, I’m reminded how FULLY HUMAN Jesus was, just a few days earlier, when I read about his time contemplating death on the cross. Wondering aloud, “father if it is your will take this cup from me,” while sweating blood. No, I think Jesus understands, and even in some mystifying way in his humanness, experienced that fear, and even he questioned the plan. It is a beautiful picture of a fully human and fully God, perfect messiah. It is no surprise that we human beings can also both trust God and question the plan and experience fear when the plan isn’t going exactly as we hope.
My son David, last weekend, had a hard couple of days. About as hard as it gets when you are privileged, and 10 years old. He tried out for a soccer team with all his friends and after hearing that many of his friends made the team, he did not get an offer to join the team as the timeline we expected expired. David played on this team last year. He is a really good soccer player. If anything, we expected he would move up to a more competitive team this year. David felt injustice in the process. He was sad, he was questioning God’s plan. We talked about how sometimes God’s plan is better than our own. We talked about trusting and waiting, but it was hard. I questioned God’s plan as well. Ultimately, I learned a great lesson from David and from the God of the universe who walks near us. David showed bravery, he did not quit, he decided to try out for another team, to continue to play the sport he loves. As I walked with David into the tryout, I stood in awe of my young son. He was sad, he was confused at best, angry at God at worst, that he had not made the original team with all of his friends. However, he bravely chased on after his goal to play soccer on a team. I watched with tears in my eyes, as David did exactly what we are supposed to do when we are baffled by god’s plan; when our faith fails us. He just kept on going and waited. He completed the tryout. He had a good time. I know in his heart he still wanted to be on the team with all his friends from last year, but he did not give up. I had to leave the tryout before the end. I walked away saying to myself, this might even be better than the other team. I began to maybe catch a glimpse of God’s plan. Then just as the tryout ended Lisa received a VM offering David a position on the original team with all his friends. I don’t believe in a prosperity gospel, or that everything works out well for us, according to the eyes of the world, if we just pray hard enough. I do believe that our god understands us and has a bigger and better plan than our own. I do believe that God cares and walks with us through the joy and the sorrow of life. I don’t know if he wanted David to learn bravery and grittiness. I don’t know if he wanted David to learn more about trust or feel empathy for others who miss their goals. I don’t know why the day played out as it did, but I believe I saw the God of the Universe NEAR in all of it and I know from this bible story that it wasn’t the first time that our God reminded us to trust his plan and understand us when we don’t trust his plan.
If Jesus was not fully God, we might not know that we can Trust his plan. If Jesus was not fully human, we might not experience the Grace we need when we don’t trust his plan. This combination got David through his day yesterday and I hope it is what I lean on to get me through today, tomorrow and all the rest of my days.