“God became man, so that
man might become God.” This is a rather shocking phrase. Written by St.
Athanasius in the fourth century, it succinctly captures the truth of the
Christian faith. Since we celebrate this great saint’s feast May 2, I want to
share a story which might help illuminate this Christian boast penned by
Athanasius.
My 3-year-old niece, Claire, suffers from seizures due to a rare
form of epilepsy. She recently had scans to monitor her brain activity that involved
attaching a bunch of wires to her head — a very frightening experience for a little
girl, as you can imagine. I wanted to do something to help, so I made a video
of myself with my head wrapped up in a bandage just like she would be wearing
once the wires were attached and secured. I talked to her about how her new
hairstyle is pretty but looks better on her than on me — anything to make her smile or laugh. Later
that day, my sister told me that Claire watched my video on repeat while the
technician attached the wires.
Strangely enough, this simple experience gave me a new view into
what Jesus Christ does in the Incarnation (though mostly by contrast). I was
merely pretending to be in Claire’s position. I wrapped a bandage around my
head and made jokes to make her feel better. I did not actually make her
better. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, takes on our sinful human nature and
redeems it by his divine goodness. He does not merely imitate our situation; he
actually takes on our ‘spiritual seizures,’ or sins. When he becomes a man, it
is not merely a show of love, but an efficacious act of love, since he unites
our frail human nature to his divine one. What God does by becoming man would
be more equivalent to my sending a video to Claire that somehow cured her
epilepsy.
I cannot take on Claire’s epilepsy for her, but Jesus can take on
our spiritual sickness for us. God become man, crucified on the cross, does not
merely make us feel better. Rather, he changes us by uniting us to the strength
of his divine nature which overcomes our sinfulness. His love is not just a
show, it is active and effective. It elevates us to a share in his own divine
life.
This week as we celebrate St. Athanasius as a great teacher of
the true Christian faith, let us joyfully recall and pursue wholeheartedly his
wonderfully shocking phrase: “God became man, so that man might become God.”
St. George, who is from St. Theresa Church, is in his
second year of theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.