The Human Jesus

Today, as most Christians will know, is Maundy Thursday. It is traditionally the day in which Christians commemorate the Last Supper, and reflect upon the night in which Jesus died.

Thinking back to the night in which Jesus ate his last supper with his friends, and prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, I am struck most by the humanity of Jesus at this time. Whether one thinks Jesus is/was the Son of God, an inspired man, a moral teacher with no divinity whatsoever - it is his humanity which is most prominent in this stage of his life.

The Gospel accounts of the Last Supper are fairly straightforward. They basically say the essence of what Jesus said and did. Now, this is not a criticism - how do I know what the evangelists were attempting to achieve with their accounts? It is quite possible that they did not intend to offer any more information than the bare essentials.

But when we read these infamous words, do we ever think about what on earth must have gone through Jesus' head on this night? To share bread, saying "Do this in remembrance of me". To talk about himself as a deceased person. To realise what he was going to face. And to point out that one of his friends, the 12 people to whom he was closest in his life (excluding, of course, his family and potentially a few of his other dear friends, female and male), was about to hand him over to be crucified? Did that break his heart? Would he have felt hurt?

Presumably fear struck him; as he prays in the Garden of Gethsemane this becomes evident. He admitted to his friends: ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death...' (Matthew 26:38).

And after this, the one thing he asked of his friends, they let him down in: 'could you not stay awake with me one hour?' (Mt 26:40). It may have seemed a small thing to some: falling asleep when it's late at night and one is exhausted; but Jesus was facing death and at a point like this, with emotions truly heightened, it must have felt as if the people he loved most repeatedly neglected him.

Luke 22:44 suggests that Jesus' sweat became like drops of blood. Jesus is more than aware of what is going to happen to him and he is probably more frightened than ever before. He is about to face public humiliation, torture, excruciating pain and a slow, agonising death.

So what's the point here? The point is that Jesus suffered immensely in the run up to his crucifixion, not just during it. In less than 24 hours he would have experienced hurt, disappointment, fear, anxiety and anguish. Yet he pursued his call to the end and faced what he had to. From this we can take both inspiration and comfort: inspiration to pursue what we believe is right at whatever cost, and comfort in knowing that at those times when we feel low, hurt, betrayed, scared or anxious, Jesus does not simply sympathise or look on from a distance - he empathises, saying "I've been there too".

A more miserable society

"Research suggests that despite having much more materially than previous generations, the country is no happier than it was half a century ago."

So writes Murray Wardrop of the Telegraph. This is, of course, not entirely shocking, despite the phrasing of this paragraph. To quote the very old cliché, "money can't buy you happiness".

Every day newspapers, news bulletins and blogs are filled with sad or depressing news: more cuts are being made, another young person has lost their life due to mindless violence, or another disaster or dictator somewhere abroad has wrecked thousands of lives.

What is the cure to this? If everyone were to suddenly become a bit richer, would this make society much happier? Somehow I strongly doubt this. We in the West are, despite rising unemployment and so on, incredibly fortunate. To have permanent homes, regular food and clean running water puts us in a very fortunate minority. To have cars, televisions, computers, mobile phones and iPods makes us really incredibly wealthy. As a country we've been fortunate enough to enjoy such benefits for many years; yet this hasn't really made us much happier.

So, is it time for a big rant about how we're terrible people for having homes and food and gadgets? And money in general? Well, I'm not going to. Material things aren't, in my belief, intrinsically evil. On the contrary; food and water are necessities and the fact that we are privileged enough to enjoy them almost obliges us to use them - though sensibly and with unceasing gratitude.

They become problematic, however, when people seek from them happiness and fulfilment (as seems to be implied by the shock that material increase hasn't made us happier). Such ideas can also be found in the New Testament. Paul did not condemn money itself, but writes:

'the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil...' (1 Timothy 6:10)

Money itself is not necessarily the source of wickedness, therefore, but the love thereof. Preceding this well-known verse is a warning about the desire for wealth:

'But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.' (1 Tim 6:9)

Jesus also warns that one cannot serve to masters - both God and wealth. Again, this is not necessarily a condemnation of wealth, but of the idolisation of wealth, or the prioritisation of money above all else.

So I've rambled on about not falling in love with money and not looking to it for happiness and fulfilment...but what is the solution? If I could give a definitive answer, I feel I would be famous by now. But a few suggestions of things to contemplate can be found from the source of wisdom that is the Bible. What did ancient Israelites claim would bring them happiness?

"Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding" (Prov 3:13)

"O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you" (Psalm 84:12)

"Happy is one who finds a friend, and one who speaks to attentive listeners" (Ecclesiasticus 25:9)

"Happy is the husband of a good wife; the number of his days will be doubled" (Ecclesiasticus 26:1)

Clearly these ancient writers in much more primitive and less materialistic societies could actually grasp something of what led to happiness. I would not attempt to suggest that here lies the solution to all happiness; but pursuing such things as listed here - God, wisdom and knowledge, love and friendship - is far more likely to bring about a sense of fulfilment and lasting satisfaction than anything material.