Gods and Men

Taking a seat in the school of the sacraments

01/19/2021

Mark 2:23-28 As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

I used to think calling Jesus by the title “Son of God” was more exalted than using the phrase “Son of Man,” like we hear in the gospel today. Did you ever think that too? “Son of God” sounds a lot better than “Son of Man.” But if you study the Old Testament carefully, especially the prophecy of Daniel 7, you discover that “Son of Man” was one of the most distinctive designations of the future Messiah. In Daniel 7:14, we read: “[The Son of Man] received dominion, splendor, and kingship; all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away.” In other words, the Son of Man will be given a kingdom that is universal (world-wide) and everlasting, eternal.

So, when Jesus says in the gospel today, “That is why the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath,” he is not trying to be humble or diminish his divinity. On the contrary, that title is one of the most ringing and loudest affirmations of Jesus’ divinity and being the Messiah. That is why when the Jews heard Jesus call himself the “Son of Man” they felt scandalized, whereas when we Catholics hear it, we feel sleepy. Whenever you hear Jesus refer to himself as the “Son of Man,” keep Daniel 7:14 in the back of your mind and it will make more sense.

But there is another layer of meaning for the term “Son of Man,” and it is a more practical one. C. S. Lewis wrote in his popular book, Mere Christianity, these celebrated lines: “The Son of God became a son of man so that the sons of men could become the sons of God.” That is, Jesus did not become a human being, the Son of Man, for his benefit, but for ours. Why? So that by becoming like us, he could slowly teach us how to become more like him. I am convinced that this is the deeper and ultimate purpose of the seven sacraments. It is a divine gift-exchange: Jesus becomes more like us so we can become more like him. The sacraments are a school where we learn how to go from being the sons of men to becoming the sons of God. Every sacrament is a carefully crafted lesson to teach us how to be more God-like.

Let’s consider a few examples. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John, in order to show us how to be baptized by water and the Holy Spirit. Hence, at every sacramental baptism since Christ’s, God has declared about each of us: “This is my beloved son, my beloved daughter, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus was Transfigured on Mt. Tabor and filled with light to show us how the sacrament of Confirmation fills us with the light of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples and taught them to eat his Body and drink his Blood so they might live forever like “gods.” And so we come to Mass and do what he did and become more like him. Jesus was anointed at Bethany with costly perfumed oil the week before his death and burial, and gave us an example of how to prepare for our own death. Last week I anointed a young man who was brain-dead by putting oil on his forehead and hands, like Mary anointed Jesus’ body at Bethany before he died.

Jesus attended a wedding at Cana in Galilee and changed water into wine, indeed into the best wine, to show us how he wants to be present at our weddings when we receive the sacrament of Matrimony. When we marry in the church, Jesus changes the water of our human love into the wine of his divine love; another instance of the sons of men learning how to become the sons of God. Every sacrament, therefore, is deliberately and divinely designed to do what C. S. Lewis expressed so eloquently: “The Son of God became the Son of Man so the sons of men could become the sons of God.”

Yesterday, I was talking to my dad and he said something very simple but it also carried a powerful spiritual punch. He asked: “When will we be able to go back to Mass in church?” You see, my parents have not stepped foot in their parish church since last March, and my father was longing to go back to the school of the sacraments. He was tired of the virtual school, watching Mass on T.V., and he prefers in-person instruction. In other words, he wants to continue his classes and keep learning how the Son of God became a Son of Man so that the sons of men could become sons of God. Thanks, dad, for teaching me that.

Praised be Jesus Christ!