"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet with out sin."
The Greek word for sympathy is sympathos. This compound word means "to feel or suffer (+) with." It is a relational word, it speaks of a deep connection between persons. Because of His kenosis the Lord has literally felt and suffered. The Christmas Gospel is that in Jesus, God has embraced completely our human nature and the human condition. The Eternal Divine Son is with us in time and space. God is weak in Jesus. God is tested in Jesus. God is misunderstood and rejected in Jesus. God, the Almighty creator of all things, visible and invisible, is displayed before us in the form of a tortured human being. But Jesus is not powerless. He chooses and embraces weakness but continues to possess power: the power of trust, hope and love, the power of obedient faith and mercy kindness--all the divine attributes which even the weakest human can possess if we open ourselves to union with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus never sinned. Never. Some say it is only human to sin, but sin makes us less than human. Sin ruins us as humans. Sin is not human, it dehumanizes us, reducing us to our most vicious impulses, passions and false desires. On the other hand, because he did not sin, we can say that Jesus is the only fully human person. He did not sin, but He did suffer. Hebrews 5:8-9 declares "Although He was a Son, He learned obedience* through what He suffered; and having been made perfect*, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey*** Him..." He was perfected in His humanity in His suffering. and for all that, He does understand us and sympathizes with us. He sympathizes and makes us one with Him. In union with Him we are saved.
Group therapy is a powerful venue for healing. In a group, one sees and hears others who have suffered a loss, one communicates with others who struggle with addictions and troubles. When one feels alone in the pain, there is comfort hearing another person say, "me, too." You are not alone, I am there with you.
In Jesus, beaten and crucified, God utters the two words which bridge the eternal gap between creator and creature. On the cross God says to each of us: "Me, too." I share your passion/pain, says the Lord. I share your hurt, says the Lord. I share in it and I redeem it. I take it into myself and I make it holy. I became one with you--the best and the worst, life and death; now you become one with me. Thus says the Lord: I sympathize with you, will you dare to sympathize with me?
*hypokuo. The Greek word is a compound of "under + listen." It means to comply, submit, obey. In the Bible listen has a double meaning: to hear and to obey. How could Jesus "learn" to obey? Human life is a process and Jesus grew and developed through the stages of life in the womb and into adulthood. Facing the cross Jesus found out what His "amen" to God the Father meant. Obedience in times of challenge and duress teach us the deep meaning of what it means to obey. That is where Jesus learned to obey--in the Garde, before Pilate, carrying the cross, uttering forgiveness in the throes of agony and death.
**teleioo. The Greek word means to consumate, to complete, to fulfill or reach the end. In a sense, then, to have nothing left to do. It does not refer so much to moral perfection, as it does completion. A perfect man does not have super powers. A perfect man is one who has reached the fullness of humanity. Hence, Jesus is the truest man, the best man, the fullest man, the complete man.
***hypokuo The same word used of Jesus in relation to His Father is used for us in relationship to Him. The Jewish Bible and the Christian Testament both present the close connection, even interchange of the words faith/trust and obey. Psalm 78 is especially helpful in this regard. Similarly 2 Timothy 2:11 "if we die with Him we will also live with Him" Hebrews 11:8 "By faith Abraham believed when he was called to go...and he went without understanding where he was going." The theosis union with God unites our wills to His. As we become one with God trust, love and obedience all become one and the same as they were in Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment