The glory of GOD is the human person fully alive!

Ok, so I smudged the quote a little bit.  Technically St. Irenaeus said, ‘The glory of God is mankind fully alive,” but as a progressive young lady, I’ve decided to be a teensy bit more modern and inclusive.  Special thanks to my awesome feminist college roommate for that one :) 

I stumbled upon this quote as signature at the bottom of an email.  It is one of my favorites, and I forgot about it for a little while.  I think it calls me back to the simple nature of my faith.  Glorifying God is living to my fullest human capacities.  Sounds like fun!  But upon thinking further, I was a little stuck.  What exactly does that mean? 

So I turned to the Bible to dig into Jesus a little bit and see how he lived.  Not only is this a great source to turn to because it’s my faith…but because he is one of the most famous humans in all of history.  I mean, whatever faith tradition you associate yourself with…it’s pretty hard to deny the existence of that man called Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified under the historical records of Pontius Pilot in the Roman Empire.  It’s also pretty hard to deny the impact he had on the next 2, 000 years of  history after his death…think about all the religious wars, crusades, governments, religious traditions and reformations that all trace back to him.  Leaving the debates or heresies about whether-or-not he is God, rose from the dead, etc aside…I would like to look at the human person of Jesus. 

So, how did this human person called Jesus live…fully alive…and glorifying God?  Well, I picked out a few passages from scripture to help me out…so here we go……..

Matthew 4:23- Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.

Matthew 5:1- When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.   He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

Matthew 8:2-3 and a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”  Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Matthew 9:36- Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

Mark 14:22 While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.”

Luke 24:13-15 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.

Luke 24:50-51 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.   While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.

When I look to Jesus, I see very clearly how he experienced people.  He was present to them.  He taught, preached, talked, and healed.  He stretched out and touched someone-a leper!  Unafraid of the stigmas surrounding those afflicted with the disease…he connected to another human in a way that only a gentle touch can.  He sat down-stopped what he was doing and paused to allow for his disciples to gather, to relax, and to spend time together.   He had emotions-he felt compassion, heartache, pain…but he also felt joy and laughed!  He shared meals with people, blessing the bread and thanking God.  He approached people and traveled with them-sharing in their experiences, journeys, conversations.   And finally, he blesses us, and departed from our world to be with our Father in Heaven. 

As a person of faith, I know I am called to be like Christ…to live as Jesus lived in every way possible.  When I get down to the core of my faith, I can come to see that the Incarnate God…essentially showed me how to maximize my humanity and to be in relationship with others through the example of Jesus Christ…and example that involves being fully alive. 

So in order for me to be more like Christ, I need to put those things into practice…but again, this constant question of HOW?!  Well, I think it’s all about experiencing the world.  It’s about using my senses to their fullest.  Taking time to express my creativity in building, making, drawing, painting, writing, whatever-creating something tangible with my hands.  It’s about going outside in the afternoon and squinting because the sun is too bright and feeling the heat beat on my skin.  It’s about sitting on a bench in the backyard and stargazing at night.  It’s about lighting scented candles to make a room smell different when I pray.  It’s about spending an extra few dollars on that comfy pillow that will hug-me-back at night, guaranteeing that perfect night sleep.  It’s about eating that second brownie every-now-and-then because it just tastes sooooo good. It’s about listening to my favorite song and singing at the top of my lungs in the shower.  It’s about stretching every morning as part of a prayer of thanksgiving for a new day.  It’s about talking to people-no, not just talking, but listening, sharing, and creating memories.  It’s about taking time to sit down, share a meal with a friend, and enjoy the conversation.  It’s about experiencing a full range of emotions-crying when I’m sad or hurting and laughing when I’m full of joy.  Jesus wept when his friend died…that’s a green-light for tears!  God gave us emotions, why wouldn’t we want to engage fully in exploring them?!  I’ve got to open up more to that experience! 

The glory of God is the human person full alive.  God is inviting me to celebrate the fullness of my humanity…to engage in emotion…and to use all of my senses….to enjoy the journey of life to its fullest.  Cheers to that!