“I’m only human, of flesh and blood I’m made. Human, born to make mistakes” So sang the Human League in their 1986 song “Human”. It has become widely accepted that if we are presented with an ethical or moral decision and we go the wrong way, we simply shrug our shoulders and point out that we “are only human” as though we had no choice in the matter. Phrases such as “to err is human” have become so ingrained in our minds that it seems that we, as humans, have no alternative but to do the wrong thing and that’s all there is to it. It’s as though there’s nothing that can be done, and we have to just accept things the way they are.
Our readings today point to a different situation. Jesus was undoubtedly an amazing person, but our tradition teaches us that Jesus was also someone who was fully human and lived a human life. He was born as a helpless baby and needed His parents to raise and protect Him. He laughed and cried (despite what the popular Christmas Carol says!), and he ate and drank. He experienced the pain of losing a friend to death. He was betrayed and abandoned by His friends. He experienced the fear of death and underwent a horrific experience on the cross. These experiences mean that Jesus knows what it is to be human and can understand what we go through. Yet, throughout His life, as a human, Jesus also modelled complete submission to the will of God. It is therefore possible for a human not to behave badly, there is an alternative way to live as is modelled by Jesus.
The truth is, however, we are not going to be perfect. Jesus understands this because He experienced life as a human. But we are expected to try and do the right thing. When we fall, we are to admit our failing and learn from it seeking to do better next time. Using the example of Jesus, we can see that it is possible to be human and live as God calls us to live all of the time. We cannot say that there was nothing else we could have done because we are simply flawed humans, we know there was a different way to act because we know how Jesus acted. It’s not enough to choose Jesus as our saviour and then think that’s it. We have to continually make the same choices as Jesus each and every time. It’s this life of obedience to God that Jesus lived and calls us to live to. We need to take responsibility as Christians for how we live in the world and model the Jesus way all of the time in all situations.