Manger Wetter

As I mentioned in my earlier post (now polished and with a few additional thoughts from Simone Weil at my work web site), here is a link to the first chapter of Dan Russ's book, Flesh-and-Blood Jesus (Baker 2008), which helps us consider what we can learn by focusing on Jesus as a real human being, not just as God.

I think that the theme here can be particularly appropriate for our culture, which makes it so hard for us to admit we cannot do everything by ourselves. A taste:

So what does the helpless infant humanity of Jesus imply about our humanity?

First, Jesus, especially in infancy but not only as an infant, was weak and needy. He had to rely on Mary and Joseph, as well as other adults in his extended family, to feed, wipe, and hold him and, until a certain age, could only communicate that need by crying. To be weak and needy, powerless to manage some of life’s problems and challenges in one’s own strength is to be human—not a sin. We will discuss later other incidents when Jesus was weak and needy—after fasting in the desert, when seeking solitude to pray, and in the Garden of Gethsemane, to name a few. For now, let it suffice to say that our Lord was weak and needy, and yet without sin, which begs the question of how we can be the same.

Please do read the whole thing.