"He Emptied Himself"

Jesus became one of us, a human being. He was born, lived, and was killed. Then my Lord stopped being dead. (March 11, 2012)

Ordinary human beings don't do that.

"God from God"

Jesus is, no kidding, God:

"...God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father...."
(Nicene Creed)

My Lord was quite clear on this point:

"So the Jews said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?' ²³

"²⁴ Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.' "
(John 8:57-58)

I've been over that before. (March 11, 2012)

"True God and True Man"

Jesus is also, no ifs, ands, or buts, human:

"The unique and altogether singular event of the Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part man, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human. He became truly man while remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true man."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 464) [emphasis mine]

Jesus Matters

I don't think it's possible to over-state Jesus' importance:

"^{1 2} In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

"He was in the beginning with God.

"³ All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be

"through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race;

"⁴ the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. "

---

"And the Word became flesh ⁹ and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth. "
(John 1:1-5, 14)

Two millennia later, the darkness still hasn't overcome the light. That's why I don't get overwrought when I get a cold; or when an election doesn't go the way I'd like:

• "Elijah, Disappointing Election Results, and Getting a Grip"
  (November 14, 2012)
• "We Won: Quite a While Ago"
  (January 13, 2011)

I'm getting a bit off-topic. Where was I? God. Jesus. Right.

Son of God: Obedient

Jesus set a very high standard:

"Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, ²

"Who, ³ though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. ⁴

"Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; ⁵ and found human in appearance,

"he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. ⁶ "
(Philippians 2:5-8) (cited in Catechism, 461)

Looking at what Jesus did, I think I can handle being obedient in smaller matters: or should be. And that's another topic.

More:

• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 464-470
• "Jesus Christ, Son of Man"
  John Paul II, General Audience (April 29, 1987)
• "Redemptor Hominis"
  John Paul II, Encyclical Letter (March 4, 1979)

Posts about Jesus:

• And the Incarnation
  • "Faith, Belief: and a Really Good Role Model"
    (October 24, 2012)
  • "Christmas: Mything the Point"
    (December 18, 2011)
  • "I Worship a Jew"
    (April 3, 2011)
  • "My Take on the News: Jingle Bells, Jangled Nerves, and Good Advice"
    (December 16, 2011)
    Particularly
    • Good Advice
  • "The True Meaning of Christmas"
    (December 24, 2008)
• Son of God and Son of Man
  
  • " 'But who do you say that I am?' "
    (October 10, 2012)
  • "Response to an Ancient Offense"
    (September 5, 2012)
  • "The Man Who Wouldn't Stay Dead"
    (March 11, 2012)
  • "How Could God Floss His Teeth?"
    (July 2, 2011)
    Particularly
    • Footnote 2
  • "The Road to Emmaus, and Rome, and Sauk Centre, and - - -"
    (May 8, 2011)