Acts 3:12-19 1 John 3:1-7 Luke 24:36b-48 Psalm 4

Jesus, himself, stood among the disciples.  He showed them his hands and his feet.  They gave him a piece of broiled fish and he ate it.

Since Easter Sunday, we have been absorbed in the mystery and the miraculous, and yet the reality, of the resurrection.  With few exceptions, life-long Christians readily accept the divinity of Christ, God Incarnate, who came to earth for the purpose of our redemption.  Jesus was and is fully divine; Jesus overcame death and, thus, fulfills the promise of everlasting life.

Today, inspired by our Gospel account from Luke, we stop to reconsider the human person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus, living and dying as one of us.  Jesus, fully human, emptied himself of his divinity, and withstood the horrors of earthly persecution and crucifixion for our sake.

It is too easy for us to say that Jesus was divine and did divine things that we, as humans, could not possibly be expected to endure or perform.

Perhaps we feel it a bit heretical to consider Jesus as a fully human person.  But, our acceptance of Jesus’ humanity is essential.  Jesus’s humanity is essential to our salvation.  Sin came to God’s creation through human downfall; thus, the price paid to reconcile human sin was required to be paid through a human.  Through God’s salvific plan, sin was necessarily reconciled on earth through the human Jesus, the human person of Jesus Christ – God’s Incarnate Son.  God did this through the human person of Jesus Christ.   It was necessary that God did this through the human person of Jesus Christ.

Further, in affirming the human Jesus, we embrace the goodness of our own human state.  As God forms us from the dust of the earth and knows each of us from before our formation in our mother’s womb, we are blessed as human beings, essential to God’s glorious creation; we are called to value life and care for our bodies as holy vessels that allow us to love and serve as we are called.  From the time God created us, we are called to be caretakers of the entirety of God’s glorious creation.  Embracing the goodness of our human bodies is essential to this responsibility.  Our humanity is essential to our mission as sinners saved by the Blood of Christ.

And, more clearly perhaps, we understand that Jesus’s humanity is essential to our salvation.   Jesus’s humanity is essential to our call to discipleship.  Aspiring Olympians, training and sacrificing for perfect their athletic acumen, look to mentors and role models for energy and inspiration.  These mentors and role models are not superhumans, otherwise their place as role models would present an impossible goal.  Similarly, if Jesus’ time on earth had been as singularly divine, how could we aspire to be like him.  If Jesus had not experienced human suffering, how could we look to him for strength in overcoming our own suffering.

Affirming and confirming Jesus’ post-resurrection physical presence is an important goal of our Gospel lesson.   Jesus was and is present in the world though not of the world; he calls us to be present in the world while not being distracted or consumed by the evils of the world.

Christ is risen from the grave; our call to discipleship is renewed once again; we are commissioned to be the physical human presence of Jesus Christ in the world.

Alleluia, Christ is Risen.