Not My Will, But Yours Be Done

Similarly, at the sixth ecumenical council, Constantinople III in 681, the Church confessed that Christ possesses two wills and two natural operations, divine and human. They are not opposed to each other, but cooperate in such a way that the Word made flesh willed humanly in obedience to his Father all that he had decided divinely with the Father and the Holy Spirit for our salvation. Christ's human will "does not resist or oppose but rather submits to his divine and almighty will." (CCC 475)

Jesus was fully God and fully man. My friends and I have often discussed whether Jesus, the man, new that he was the Son of God, and if so, did he know from his birth or was it slowly revealed to his human nature over time?

I tend to believe that while he knew of his divinity from the beginning, his humanity still had the free will to choose his path in life, and had to consciously choose to follow the divine will of the trinitarian God which is why he can be a role model to us for his obedience.

Remember that when Adam was created, he was in full communion with God just as Jesus was in his humanity. Jesus IS the new Adam because he shared the same humanity of Adam. Where Adam gave into temptation, Jesus resisted and remained obedient to God. His obedience is a model to us, and while our tendency to sin can be overwhelming at times, we can see that it is possible to submit fully to the will of the Father.

(I've written this blog at least three times, and have yet to put my thoughts accurately into words. I suppose smarter theologians than I have tried, and surely they were as frustrated as I, but I suppose that's why its faith, and not science, to understand the mystery of Jesus' dual nature!)

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband and he ate. (Genesis 3:6)

The last words of Peter Parker's uncle Ben before he dies make up the title of this entry. I don't think we need to be able to shoot webs from our wrists for that statement to apply to ourselves.


I can remember at one time believing (and making jokes about) the fact that woman was responsible for the fall of man! After all, she was the one that ate from the tree first, and then brought a piece to share with her husband who would have trusted her, as his wife, not to lead him into danger.

Only later did a wise person point out that had Adam been vigilant in his role as protector of his wife, perhaps the serpent might never have been able to tempt her. A tough pill to swallow for all of us husbands!

I also read a recent thread on Phatmass' forums questioning a hypothetical scenario in which the woman ate of the tree, but the man refused. Would we now be an all male society? Would God have taken another rib and perfected the woman? Would Eve have been kicked out of the garden without alimony thus making divorce acceptable in God's eyes?

Amidst these humorous responses, the idea was brought forth that if man and woman become one flesh in marriage, do they share in their sins? As mentioned above, Adam was at fault even before taking a bite of the fruit by not being a protector to his wife. If my wife sins because I as her husband was not their to help her in her holiness, am I also guilty for my lack of aid?

Feminists don't realize what they are giving up by trivializing the role of the man. Then again are we as men not responsible for giving them a reason to downplay our role in society? Perhaps if we were the providers and protectors that we were created to be, rather than the selfish, immature boys that we tend to be, women would not have the notion to downplay our necessity.

I think it's time men took Uncle Ben's last words as their personal mantra, and learn from the mistakes our forefathers made. Might I suggest all men consider becoming an e5 man, and put charity toward women in your lives higher on your priority list? Looking in the mirror, I realize this will require large quantities of discipline and prayer. Will you join me?