When my boys were little, I all but convinced them that I possessed special “super powers” that enabled me to do great things. I couldn’t fly or leap tall buildings in a single bound of course, but when stopped at a traffic light, I could wave my hand and make the light change from red to green. I could also “magically” open the door to the grocery store with a flick of my wrist.
“How do you do that?” They would ask, completely amazed with my “skill.”
I always gave them a knowing smile and tell them it was my little secret. “I can’t tell you about it in front of the mortals,” I explained.
Naturally, this worked out great until they learned to read the words “Automatic door, please stand clear” and discovered that I could see the adjacent traffic light switch from yellow to red just before pulling my Jedi mind trick. Yes, their mother was all too human and in today’s gospel we are reminded that Jesus was too.
While it’s easy to focus our attention on Jesus’ ability to calm the storm, we tend to ignore or glaze over the words that give us insight into His humanity: “Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.” Now maybe it is the mediocrity of this action that causes us to ignore it, but think about it…The Man was TIRED! He’d been working all day! He had to walk or sail to wherever he was going, greet the crowds who came out to see him, heal a leper or two, multiply something and offer up a compelling sermon that would give the locals something to think about long after He was gone. Do you think it’s easy to come up with a bunch of parables off the cuff like that? That alone would wear anyone out!
It’s tempting to dismiss Jesus’ work-related stressors by saying that He’s God, but here’s the problem: God doesn’t get tired. He’s on call 24/ 7 and as far as we know, he never takes a break. So, if Jesus is God incarnate, then why does He need to sleep at all? Is the nap a ruse? Is it a throwaway line to explain why Jesus isn’t with everyone else when the storm comes up? I don’t think so. It shows us that He was a human being, flesh and bone, red/white blood cells, DNA, and quite capable of being exhausted by His work…just like the rest of us.
But even when He is firmly immersed in the human experience, He is still God. As the creator of heaven and earth, He knows the storm is coming, and yet He tells His friends to set sail anyway. He knows that his disciples’ fears are not quelled by His presence alone. He knows that He will be aroused when their faith is shaken and their fears get the best of them. And He knows that they will ask, “How do you do that?” when they are given a visible sign of His power. He knows all of this because He is God. He may look like a mortal man. He may feel like a mortal man and he may experience the fatigue of a mortal man. But He is still God.
I’d like to think that Jesus was bemused by His followers the same was I was with my sons when I used to fool them with my tricks, but it’s hard to imagine Him being that smug. For a brief period of time, they thought I was something more than what I seemed. They had no doubt that I could control the elements around me, that I could make doors open and traffic lights change. It was an amazing thing to experience, but I knew my super powers were merely a ruse whereas Jesus’ were very real because He was God made flesh…
And I am all too human.
Today’s readings for Mass: 2 SM 12: 1-7A, 10-17; PS 51: 12-13, 14-15, 16-17; MK 4:35-41
