Scripture Reflection, February 17: Human AND Divine

Scripture Readings:
Genesis 12 1-4a
Psalm 33
2 Timothy 1: 8b-10
Matthew 17: 1-9

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading we hear Matthew’s telling of Jesus’ transfiguration. At this point in the story, Jesus has set out towards Jerusalem and is quite aware of the fate that awaits him there. In Matthew’s account Jesus has already foretold his death and resurrection once and will do so again shortly after his transfiguration. Later, Jesus will foretell his death a third and final time before he enters Jerusalem. This vision of a Christ who knows his own future places Jesus in stark contrast to his disciples who seem to constantly misunderstand him, the most outspoken of these being Peter. But Matthew’s Gospel offer’s us much more than an image of a Christ who passes through life foreknowing all that awaits him. In Matthew we see a Jesus who has striking moments of divinity in his foreknowledge, and especially the transfiguration, and yet we also find the image of a man who is very, very human.

The story of the Transfiguration is layered with meaning for what and who Jesus will be for us. In the tradition of Abraham, Jesus ascends a mountain where the glory of God is revealed. With three of his disciples as witnesses Jesus is transfigured before them, “his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.” He then converses with Moses and Elijah, demonstrating, among other things, his importance as a prophet and fidelity to the Jewish tradition. But when Peter offers to build dwellings for these men a voice thunders from the heavens and brings the disciples to their knees. “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased listen to him.” In a remarkable display of Christ’s divine mission, the voice from heaven asserts that Jesus’ role is unique beyond any prophet to come before him. But immediately following this divine affirmation, while his disciples are still cowering on the ground, a very human Christ comforts them and walks with them down the mountain.

In the Gospel of Matthew we hear both of a Jesus who knew the destiny that awaited him and of a man who struggled with this knowledge for weeks as he journeyed towards and preached within Jerusalem. Matthew paints for us a magnificent portrait that at once identifies Jesus with the glory of God and yet embeds Jesus into real human relationships and choices.

The first time Jesus tells of his impending death and resurrection, Peter pulls him aside and rebukes him, telling him that these things must not happen. In return Jesus forcedly tells Peter “get behind me, Satan!” How else could Peter’s actions have elicited such a response unless Jesus had both the divinity to stop these future events, and the humanity to be legitimately tempted to do so? Jesus knew that if he chose not to die for us, he would be choosing love for himself over his love for others. This is possibly the most basic and persistent of all our human failures.

Later in Matthew’s Gospel, we read of Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. Here Jesus is deeply troubled and throws himself to the ground in prayer. Again his humanity is revealed as he struggled with the events he knew would befall him. Adding to his agony was the fact that his dearest friends could not stay awake to support him in his time of need. On that night in Gethsemane, a very emotional, very human Jesus, with clothes covered in dirt, chose death for us. He was both Christ who fully understood the consequences of his decision and Jesus the man who really chose to suffer and die for our sake.

Throughout the season of Lent we confront our own humanity in the same way Jesus had to. Many of us have made commitments to abstain from our vices or have committed more fully to healthy practices that we often neglect. In this season, as we confront our weaknesses and as we strive to deepen our faith, it is fitting to contemplate Christ’s humanity as one of us on this earth with his joys and struggles, pleasures and pains. And it is right to contemplate his divinity, the Word of God made flesh for our sake radiant with the glory of God in the transfiguration.

By Jake Kohlhaas

Jake is a Bernardin Scholar at Catholic Theological Union and is currently working as the youth minister for Edison Park Lutheran Church in Chicago.