We Catholics hear from the gospels every single time we go to Mass. And as much as we don’t like to admit it, sometimes it is easy to zone out. Let’s be honest… Matthew, Mark, Luke & John were not exactly Pulitzer prizewinners. I feel as though sometimes the gospels are so factual and formal sounding, we unconsciously detach ourselves from the rich meaning that hides between the lines.

Just think about how many hundreds of days were left out of the gospels. The books tell us flat out that many more teachings and miracles occurred during Jesus’ public ministry. But think for just a second about all of the human moments that the apostles must have shared with Jesus. Because, yes Jesus has a divine nature, but he also had a human nature. He was their teacher, but he was also their friend.

All of the meals they must’ve shared, nights drinking wine, laughing, and telling stories. I have to imagine he was one heck of a philosopher to chat with. They were basically nomadic, so in my head, I picture this big group of guys camping out at night, and crashing in friends’ homes, maybe sleeping outside under the stars. Imagine stargazing with Jesus! Is your mind blown yet??

Sometimes thinking about Jesus’ human nature helps me to pray in a different way. For me at least, it can be tough to pray to this all-knowing, wise, often-cryptic teacher. But when I picture Him hanging out with his apostles, talking about life, it’s a lot easier to think of Him as my best friend. Someone I can go hang out with in Adoration, and have a heart to heart. Certainly not forgetting His powerful and glorious divinity, but talking to him from His human perspective. That is, after all, why He became man… so that we might know the infinite God through finite man. He was a human person, as real as you or me.

Try it sometime!