Since he was completely human, Jesus also had powerful needs and wants. He also wrestled with hard-to-resist temptations not only in the desert that first time after his baptism, but all throughout his life until his last breath on the cross.
The difference is that our Lord understood himself: He knew how powerfully deceptive his needs and wants were. He asked for help from both his Father and his disciples when he needed to, as he did in Gethsemane. And finally, he firmly and consistently refused to give in to these needs and wants.
We can take comfort in the thought that as we wrestle with our own weaknesses, the Lord understands us and supports us.
Holy Thursday is a good time to pray over our needs and wants, to ask the Lord to give us wisdom and strength as we try to master them.
There is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David that talks about how we tend to be enslaved by our needs and wants. It’s called–precisely–“Wanting Things.”
Listen to the song as you examine yourself: What are your strongest and fiercest needs? How can you begin to manage them?
Holy Thursday from Pins Light on Vimeo.
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Music source: “Wanting Things” from “Promises, Promises” by Burt Bacharach and Hal Linden
Video edited by John Mactal.