Only Human

Seeing that Jesus alone is the one who saves us

05/16/2022

Acts 14:5-18 There was an attempt in Iconium by both the Gentiles and the Jews, together with their leaders, to attack and stone Paul and Barnabas. They realized it, and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside, where they continued to proclaim the Good News. At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth, who had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him, saw that he had the faith to be healed, and called out in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet.” He jumped up and began to walk about. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they cried out in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in human form.” They called Barnabas “Zeus” and Paul “Hermes,” because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, for he together with the people intended to offer sacrifice. The Apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments when they heard this and rushed out into the crowd, shouting, “Men, why are you doing this? We are of the same nature as you, human beings.

Are priests just ordinary people, or are we superhuman in some way? Well, this may come as a shock to you, but we are only human. Surprise! But people don’t always treat us as if we were only human. When I was growing up we never invited the priest over for supper because we put him on a pedestal and felt our humble home was not worthy of such an exalted guest. We have some parishioners who insist on kissing my hands when they greet me. And one who even kisses my feet and says I am a walking saint. Don't tell her the truth, okay?

Why do the priests’ sexual scandals make the front page of the news, while the sexual misbehavior of clergy of other denominations is covered on page 10, or not at all? Is it not because even the secular press expects a higher standard of comportment from Catholic clergy? I’m reminded of that memorable line from Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice” when Shylock the Jews asks rhetorically: “If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die?” In other words, we Catholic clergy are only human. And even the walking saints, while they walked on earth, were only human, too, even if they were more eager for God’s grace.

In the first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas cure a crippled man, and the people put them on a pedestal. The people declare: “The gods have come down to us in human form.” The Greek people even gave them the names of Greek gods: “They called Barnabas ‘Zeus’ and Paul ‘Hermes’ because he was the chief speaker.” Like some parishioners insist on kissing my hands and feet, so the Greeks in Lystra offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas. But the apostles try to calm the excessive exuberance of the crowds by saying: “Men, why are you doing this? We are of the same nature as you, human beings.” They were saying like Shylock: “If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die?”

By the way, earlier in Acts 4, Peter and John also cure a cripple, and the Jewish authorities want to persecute them and imprison them. But the apostles say the real glory belongs to Jesus and not to them. We read in Acts 4:12: “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved,” that is, the name of Jesus. Indeed, the meaning of the Hebrew name Yeshua (Jesus in English) is “salvation.” But that also means that the rest of us, priests and walking saints, are only human.

By the way, I am convinced that we have this tendency not only to put priests on a pedestal, but we also put our parents on a pedestal. When we are small children, toddlers and pre-teens, we see our parents like the gods. They are like Zeus and Hermes. Our father is like Superman and our mother is like Wonder Woman. They are physically much stronger, and they can answer our every question, they know how the whole world works, and they can heal all our wounds with a kiss. Little children look at their parents like the people of Lystra: “The gods have come down to us in human form!”

And isn’t this part of the problem that causes the teenage angst: the discovery that my superhuman parents are only human after all? Teenagers begin to see their parents are not perfect and make mistakes. They learn that they know more in some areas of life – like technology – than their parents do. They discover they are physically stronger than their parents. In other words, young people want to put their parents on a pedestal, but they keep falling off! Why? Because parents, like priests, are only human. Parents should ask their teenage children: “If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die?”

I am still learning this same lesson every time I go to visit my elderly parents in Springdale. My father, Superman, walks with a cane. My mother, Wonder Woman, makes sure their many, many medications, are in the right container each day. Our days are spent driving from doctor to dentist to drug store. Maybe we should all memorize Acts 4:12: “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor any name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved,” except the name of Jesus. Everyone else, without exception, is only human.

Praised be Jesus Christ!