Student Sam Wells shares Lent reflection

This Sunday’s Gospel gives us a window into both the humanity and the divinity of Jesus. As Christians, of course, we talk about the Incarnation of Christ – the fact that he is the Word made flesh, God who became a human being. But it is so easy to talk about either the humanity or the divinity of Christ. This Gospel, though, invites us to remember both natures of Christ. After seeing his friend Lazarus’s tomb, Jesus – in one of the most profoundly human descriptions of him found in the Gospels – reacts the same way many of us would react upon learning of the death of a good friend. He weeps. Jesus, the very same one who is God that became human, who spends his public ministry preaching about the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life, allows himself to grieve at the passing of Lazarus. Without his human emotion, Jesus wouldn’t have paused to weep at the death of his friend. At this point in the Gospel, his human emotions are on full display.

But immediately after, Jesus does something which no human being could. He raises Lazarus from the dead. Jesus, the very same one who was shattered by his friend’s passing, offers up prayers and commands Lazarus to come out of the tomb. And he does! Without his divinity, Jesus would not have raised Lazarus from the dead. At this point in the Gospel, the power of his divinity is on full display.

This story shows that there is never a time when Jesus is without either of his natures. The existence of both a human and a divine nature in one person makes Jesus who he is. This means that, even though Jesus is God – our Savior, the one we worship and believe has saved us from our sin – he can relate to us. The Letter to the Hebrews says, “... We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who has been similarly tested in every way, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). We do not follow a God that is so foreign to humanity but rather one who took on our form and experienced everything we experience. He knows our struggles and our humanity. And this is good news!

— Student Sam Wells

Class of 2025, Religious Studies

President, Ranger Catholic Club