Holy and Human

Written by Danica Zomer, CSW-PIP at Midwest Mindset Counseling 

As you read this, we are in the midst of Holy Week. Holy Week is the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. It’s also the last week of Lent. It’s the pinnacle week in Christian faith that focuses on Jesus’ last days before his death, and ultimately resurrection. Because of this, I decided to take a more faith-based approach to the Mindful Moments article this week and offer a glimpse of how faith and mental health align.

The Bible is filled with references of emotions. Some of the emotions noted throughout the Bible include love, anger, compassion, worry, grief, jealousy, joy, peace, distress, amazement, and desire. Yet, we often avoid emotions, especially the ones that are intense and uncomfortable. Almost everyone finds the emotions grief and anxiety to be uncomfortable. And yet, we know they have a purpose, as do all of our emotions.

As Christians, we believe that the life of Jesus is our ultimate guide for living. We believe He lived a perfect life while He was on earth; because Jesus was both holy and human. Scripture says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” John 1:14. He is our example, this is who we look up to, learn from, and strive to be like. So, it would only make sense that we would also seek His example when it comes to understanding our emotions.

If you imagine what it looks like for someone to be holy, what comes to your mind? Take a moment to picture that and then continue reading and see if the below description matches what you picture.

Someone who bursts into tears with uncontrollable weeping, someone who forcibly throws people out of a building, yells about things that make him angry, or someone who overturns tables and scatters coins on the ground? All of these are examples of times when Jesus (being both holy and human) showed intense emotion (Luke 19; John 2; Matthew 21). Emotions are vital to being human. We are created to experience the full range of emotions. They are not sinful and we know this because Jesus, our perfect example, experienced them as well.

Jesus knows what it means to be human. He experienced the same emotions as you and I experience. What a gift it is to worship someone who truly knows what we are feeling. And still He says, “come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” Matthew 11:28. Jesus invites us to notice our emotions; even when we are weary, even when we are burdened with life’s hardships- and to come to Him with them.

Experiencing emotions is not a bad thing. It does not make you weak or less than anyone else. They make you human. They are our messengers; giving us signals and telling us important things about what’s happening around us. Listen to them, give them space. Ask yourself, “what is this emotion trying to tell me?” Our emotions are part of what it means to be human and to be made in God’s image.

As you experience this Holy Week, notice the emotions that come up for you; don’t shove them away. Allow yourself to be human, just as Jesus was.