When Jesus Took a Fall…

My mom came and got me.

“There’s a guy down in the street and he’s too big for me to help”.

I jumped up and went outside to see the old man struggling to lift himself off the ground by hanging on to a garbage can the neighbors had left out.

He walks by twice a day, very slowly.

He uses two ski poles for support and he is accompanied by two small dogs with a leash on each pole.

He was struggling hard to get up, legs askew and entwined with poles, leashes, and the dogs.

His clothes hadn’t been washed in weeks.

His hands, arms, and face were drenched in sweat and spittle.

I didn’t want to touch him.

I’m already terrified of the coronavirus and this guy looked like six feet of infected petri dish.

He steadied himself on the garbage can and raised himself almost to his feet, but needed one last boost.

I pulled him all the way up.

He leaned on the can and rested while I gathered his poles and his dogs for him, then went on his way.

I flew back in the house and drenched myself in that soap you use before you have surgery.

Lathering up, I heard the words of St. Gregory…

“For that which He has not assumed He has not healed…”

When taking on human flesh, Jesus took on all the infirmities of that flesh and we were healed.

While we were unclean and untouchable, Jesus “put us on”and lifted us from the ground of sin into heavenly places.

More incredibly, Jesus…became that struggling man on the ground in order to raise him… and us…up.

We have been touched and we have been healed.

You and I are not just beneficiaries of the work of Christ, but extensions of it to each other and the world.

Remember that as you navigate your anxiety in a coronavirus world…and make your own application…