Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 307


Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

In the heart of our Catholic tradition, there has never been any doubt that Jesus was fully human. The Council of Chalcedon, which is still controverted among Christians, defined our understanding of Jesus as one person with two natures. He is entirely human and entirely divine. He could not save us otherwise.
As God without a human nature he could not wave a magic wand over us to save us from ourselves. No matter the favors and benefits he might bestow upon us, we would still be plagued with our suspicions and fears, and guided by ambitious greed, avarice or lust.
If he were simply human he might teach us a better way of life -- as the Buddha and Laozi did -- but we already know our good intentions never carry us more than a day or two.
Only the God who is entirely human can enter our willing hearts and guide our desires so that we might finally choose to conform our will to the Divine Will. This is accomplished with the Grace of the Holy Spirit, a power which enters our willingness and enables real and persistent courage.

As a hospital chaplain with particular responsibility to Catholic Veterans, I find my own willingness daily tested and daily encouraged. I have met many Veterans with their spouses, who assure me they have been married for forty and fifty years. They have practiced the faith these many years and endured many disappointments and much sorrow. Their devotion to one another is just as simple and reliable as the roots of a massive oak tree.
I meet other Veterans, solitary souls, who abandoned the faith even before they enlisted. Some enjoyed their service at the altar and still boast of it; but when the critical moment came to actually choose to live by our traditions, they followed the crowd.
I assure the latter, "We still count you as one of our own!" and they are often glad to hear it. But when I see them a year or two later, the Good News has made no difference.

"Choose life!" Moses commands us in the Book of Deuteronomy. Some people think that's just a good idea. "Yes," they say, "I choose life!" but they continue to make all the wrong choices. Their faith is without works.
And so I begin each day with prayer, knowing that I will be tested today as I hear many stories of futility, of life and opportunities missed. I will again offer to Veterans, their families and friends the Grace that strengthens limp hands and weak knees

So we are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.