Ongoing Formation Session 1

Humanity of Jesus

Opening prayer: Let us follow the advice of Saint Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words when necessary.”

Leader: Our formation discussions in 2023-24 will follow Sister Cheryl Clemons’ talks during Associates and Sisters Day, “From Incarnation to Eucharist,” and “Living a Eucharistic Life.” To believe in the power of the Eucharist, we must first believe that Jesus was both divine and human. Session 1 will focus on the Humanity of Jesus.

First reader: “In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, ‘Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’”

Luke 1: 26-33

Reader 2: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.”

Hebrews 4:15-16

Reader 3: There was a man who was kind and generous, but he couldn’t believe the story of Jesus, that God came to Earth as a human. He told his wife he was not attending Christmas Eve Mass because he’d feel like a hypocrite. While his family was at church, a terrible snow storm began, and shortly afterward he heard loud “thuds” against his window. He found a flock of birds who were lost in the snow, and they had been trying to seek shelter through his window.

The man didn’t want the birds to suffer, so he went out to his barn, opened the doors and turned on the light. But the birds would not enter. The man fetched some bread crumbs and sprinkled them in the snow, so the birds would follow them into the barn. But the birds ignored the bread crumbs. The man tried to catch the birds, or shoo them into the barn, but they flew in every direction. He realized the birds were too afraid of him to allow him to save them.

“If only I could be a bird, and mingle with them and speak their language,” he thought. “Then I could tell them not to be afraid. They would let me show them the way to safety. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear, and understand.”

Just then, the church bells began to ring, and the man stood there listening. And he dropped to his knees in the snow.

“The Man and the Birds,” Author unknown

Leader: Discuss these questions in your group.

  1. Is it difficult for me to believe that Jesus was human like me, in everything but sin?
  2. Does the humanity of Jesus make a difference in my life?

Leader: Nearly all of those who Jesus interacts with in the New Testament are unremarkable people going about their daily lives. Jesus meets them where they are.

Reader 4: “Jesus came to a town of Samaria. … Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’ … The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?’ (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. … But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. … The woman said to him, ‘I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking with you.’ … The woman left her water jar, went into the town, and said to the people, ‘Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?’”

John 4: 1-29

Leader: Discuss these questions in your group.

  1. Where in my life do I meet Jesus?
  2. Can you recall a person or a place where you were surprised to feel the presence of Jesus?

Leader: Jesus never tells his disciples to worship him. He asks only that we follow him and do as he does, because he has come to do God’s will.

Reader 5: “You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

John 13: 13-15

Reader 6: “So be imitators of God, as beloved children.”

Ephesians, 5:1

Leader: Discuss these questions in your group.

  1. How can I reveal the face of Jesus to others?
  2. Where is someplace you spend time that by your presence allows Jesus to come alive?

Closing prayer: Jesus prayed with the Psalms as we can. Our mission is as simple as Psalm 37:3, “Trust in the Lord and do good.”