I read somewhere recently from a theologian (whom I can not now recount, but do like to read I am sure) that, when Jesus uses the term "Son of Man" in Mark's Gospel, one should translate it, "fully human one". Also recently, I was part of a conversation that led in that same direction of comprehending Jesus as one who knew himself fully and completely and acted out of his perfect humanity.

In that aforementioned conversation, one of the participants recounted his new understanding of John's passion narrative. He had somehow overlooked, or missed in some way, the fact that the people who came to take Jesus by force in the garden fell backward when Jesus said, "I am he." To be sure, John is doing theology in a different way than Mark, but there is something to learn from both. Through our conversation, we ran the gamut of ideas about Jesus' identity and finally settled on the one that recognized Jesus' full humanity.

I know that this is a deep subject to consider, but let's think about this for a moment. How often have you or I acted in ways that were less than human - ways that showed our disconnect with God? How often has humanity itself acted in ways that betrayed our God-created existence? From the beginning of Judeo-Christian scriptures, everything was created to exist in harmony with itself, one another and with God. That "red thread" continues throughout the biblical narrative. Jesus came along in the Gospels and showed how humanity just couldn't reach God on our own - indeed, we kept messing up all of creation. So, what if Jesus' great power over sin and death is tied inextricably to his humanity as well as his deity? I mean, what if Jesus' perfection of humanity comes through his perfectly led human life? I tend to believe that only a human incarnation of God who could live perfectly is the only way out of the human tendency toward sinfulness. While John's Gospel accentuates the more "Almighty God" side of Jesus, Mark understands Jesus' perfect humanity in a way that frees humanity to live as God has created us to live.

This whole discussion, then, led me to question, "What if, because of Jesus, you and I are now empowered by God to live that same power?" Psychologists call this living a "fully-actualized" life - knowing who you are without any doubt. Living in this way does not preclude humility, it effects a deep understanding of how one "lives, moves and has being".

If you think that this is heretical and far off the mark of Christian understanding, I urge you to read the Eastern Orthodox mystics. There, you will find great emphasis on Jesus' humanity as well as humanity's ability to overcome sinfulness because of Jesus.

What do you think?

Peace,
Tim