Meet Jesus
Sometimes we feel drawn to different people for their beauty, their goodness, or some benefit we might obtain from them. Sometimes we approach others out of curiosity and sometimes out of need. There are several details of Jesus’ life that could attract us, but one in particular has the power to turn our world upside down.
The Christian faith professes that Jesus is fully man, or human, and fully God. Jesus, the God-man also called Emmanuel, God with us, lived among human beings to make his Father known and his will for humanity. Yet he not only shows us the Father; he teaches us who we are and how to be fully human.
We live in a time when the deepest questions of our society have to do with who we are, what our identity is, what our rights are, how we should express ourselves and live in freedom. There is much confusion in our society because, to answer these questions, we have begun by looking at the human being and not at the Creator.
Christian faith suggests that if we want to know ourselves, understand who we are, and live our best life here on earth, we must first contemplate God. Jesus helps us contemplate our human nature—what it means to face difficulties, joy, and human suffering. Jesus also helps us contemplate our spiritual capacity—what it means to live in communion with God, our Creator.
We might be struck by Jesus’ generosity, his mercy, his love for the most vulnerable. For me, the most striking thing about Jesus is that he not only lived, died, and rose from the dead, but that he invites me—and all of us—to journey with him toward God. Jesus’ story is not merely the story of a hero’s path; it is an invitation to live this life hand in hand with God and to discover ourselves fully human in intimate communion with him.
I invite you to know Jesus more.